I’ve been trying to catch up on all the French New Wave films. I wish I had seen The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) earlier. The film score and scenes of 1950-60s Paris alone make it worth watching.
The 400 Blows actually shed light on one of my other favorites, Rushmore. In an
interview, Anderson cited it as a major influence and its obvious that Antoine Doinel’s persistent ambition– directed toward mischief and crime rather than his studies– underlies Max Fischer’s compulsive extracurricular activities in spite of his consistently poor grades.
Both movies flip the typical viewer’s response to the “mischievous school boy” character on its ear, belying the belief that such an enterprising young man could easily achieve if just applying himself. In 
both films, after being shaken up by hitting rock bottom scholastically, the boys glue themselves to the books, earnestly and exhaustingly studying only to fail even more miserably when tested the next day. While performing miserably at school, they attempt amazing feats outside of class, hustling and dealing in the adult world, fitting seamlessly as equal counterparts to their adult associates.
Max Fischer and Antoine Doinel do differ though…. Max has a charismatic charm and persistence to be connected to his beloved Rushmore community. While Anderson tried to give him an emotional depth, which serves to suggest his compulsive networking is based in a deeper insecurity with his father’s meager earnings as a small time Barber andhis deceased mother’s absence, this is a much stronger note in 400 Blows. In 400 Blows, Antoine is a much sadder character, lacking Fischer’s lighthearted charm and visionary plans– and in fact, Antoine is often unlikable in his compulsion to lie and deceive. Beautifully stylized in black & white, Doinel navigates the alternating gritty and delicately sweet streets of Paris in his black turtlenecks and jacket/scarf with the collar flipped up against the wind. Antoine’s home life is deeply disturbed and you quickly understand that his underground criminal schemes and school mischief are based in a genuine distrust in his parents and fear of their shaky financial situation.
Doinel is a fascinatingly written character. He misleads your assumption that he can succeed in school if he tries, he stupidly blurts out a series of lies to those who have his best interest, and his criminal exploits get worse and worse; however, aside from being a riveting in his child schemer, he keeps the audience’s attention with his ebbing and flowing likability. And even when he’s being the worst little bastard, you’re reminded, watching scenes of him listening at night to his parents’ screaming fights about his mother’s suspicious late night “overtime” and his father’s gambling addiction, that ultimately he’s an insecure child who learned that he can’t rely on his parents.
The prevailing belief is that main characters must be likable, there is only so much leeway in deviant or detestable characteristics he/she might have and there must be a redeeming undertone for such characters. Antoine tests those limits as the film constantly challenges the audiences judgment of Antoine by revealing both lovable and detestable qualities in Antoine in alternating order. And the character is so well developed to the final shot. There aren’t extraneous moments, everything in the film adds to your understanding of Doinel. And as things develop, you realize how misunderstood he is and how easily adults give up on his and any blame on the boy himself, shifts to the system And ultimately, Antoine’s persistence to survive and do so on his own accord is winning.
Director Francois Truffaut said that Antoine is based on his childhood. It’s said the Doinel served as his alter ego, and he did several films reprising the Doinel character. The 400 Blows was his debut, followed by: Antoine and Colette, Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, and Love on the Run. Doinel was consistantly played by one of Truffaut’s favorite players, Jean Pierre Leaud, a face of French New Wave Cinema, also starring in Masculin, Feminin.
Original NY Times Film Review (1959)
Filed under: books music film, muse | Tagged: Antoine Doinel, Max Fischer, muse, Rushmore, The 400 Blows
