Joseph Roman
10/13/10
400 Blows (1959)
Country of Origin: France
Language of Film: French
Released in France May 4, 1959
Released in United States November 16, 1959
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Starring: Jean-Pierre Leaud – Antoine Doinel
Claire Maurier – Gilberte Doinel (Antoine’s Mother)
Albery Remy – Julien Doinel (Antoine’s Father)
Guy Decomble – School teacher
Patrick Auffay – Rene Bigey (Antoine’s best friend)
Awards: Best Director Award (1959 Cannes Film Festival)
Critics Award of 1959 (New York Film Critics’ Circle)
Best European Film Award (1960 Bodil Awards)
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay (32nd Academy Awards)
The film 400 Blows was influential to the development of film-making. Upon the film’s release, it was considered to be the beginning of the French New Wave. Films developed within the frame of the French New Wave are usually proposed with two basic principles, Mise-En-Scene and Auteur Theory. Mise-En-Scene is the work done by director and how he or she gives images to the words on the screenplay. It covers the what is done before shooting; Mainly characters, décor, camera angles, and camera movement. Auteur theory is the idea that a film should be a medium of artistic expression that conveys the director’s personality
I read two articles “The 400 Blows,” by Annette Insdorf (http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/528) and ”The 400 Blows Verisimilitude and the (Re)presentation of the city” by Steven Chong (http://knol.google.com/k/the-400-blows). The first article reiterates the fact that a pioneer of the French New Wave developed the film. It talks about how the film was somewhat a semi-autobiographical film in the manner in which it elaborates how Truffaut moves backward and forward in time in recalling his own experience while forging a filmic language. The second article focuses on the details of the French New Wave that can be found in the film. It also covers how the Film was a description of post-war France.
After the reading the articles regarding the film, I gained a bit of understanding the French New Wave. The first article talks about the film’s semi-autobiographical background. The directors who conveyed the themes of the French New Wave often recalled their own experiences when directing their films. An example of this would the parents of Antoine Doinel. In the film, Antoine’s mother had him when she was a young girl. She then met his soon to be father, right after he was born. This is the exact family background of the Director Truffaut. The second article touches on another French New Wave development in which certain characters lack the professional training to be considered professional actors. It talks about how it helps elaborates a more natural feel to the film, which was certainly groundbreaking for the time in which it was made. An example of this would be the actor Jean-pierre Leaud. He was the actor who played Antoine Doinel. He in his own right had no professional training as an actor, but he exuded the realism necessary to depict a misunderstood child.
I found that the film wasn’t too entertaining, but regardless of the entertainment it provided it helped provide me with information regarding the development of film. During the screening I realized that there were many shots that were similar to the films of today. An example of this would be the opening shot where the camera taped the façade of a city in France. Another would be how the camera usually followed the characters as well as at times gave us a point of view shot of the actual character. This was something that we didn’t see in films shot before this film, and I was surprised to see that this was something that directors of the French New Wave began. Viewing this film may not have been enjoyable but it certainly opened my eyes when I gained some insight in how this film helped influence the direction of films in modern day cinema.
No comments:
Post a Comment