400 Blows

Overall 400 Blows was a terrific and well made movie. The film follows a young troubled boy Antoine who just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. It shows you his life at home, school, and life outside with his friend René. In all three aspects he seems to find a way to get in trouble or do something he shouldn’t be doing. He has no role models in his life to show him the right way or to do good which is a huge hardship on him. The ending of the film had me a little bit confused and I am still trying to depict what it means.

But some aspects of the film i found fascinating was the soundtrack that goes along with the film, which makes each scene in many ways. From the chaotic music being played while he is on the amusement ride in the beginning, to the sad music being played while he is being taken away in the police truck. Another well done aspect of the film was the cinematography. There are so many scenes in the film of following two or more characters around the city, and Henri Decaé does an amazing job of cutting to different angles while continuing dialogue.

One scene in the movie I found very fascinating was in the beginning when the camera was facing the front of the classroom where ‘Petite Feuille’ (The French teacher) was standing from the perspective of the children. The way the camera is angled you can see the entire classroom, the teacher teaching, Antoine cleaning the side board, and the children at there desks. This gives you a good glimpse of everything that is going on in the room as well as what some people are not aware of. While the teacher had his back turned the students would mimic him and gesture things with him being unaware of them, but us the audience is aware as almost being another students in the classroom. Then when the teacher confronts the class and yells at them, then he proceeds to chucks a piece of chalk right at the camera making it feel even more like your are apart of the classroom and not just an audience member.

Also one aspect of sound that stuck out to me in the film, was when Antoine is with watching the newsreel with René you could tell that the sound of his bubble gum popping was not filmed on the actual set of the film. To make this sound effect they used a soundscape which we had learned about in class called foley. This gave it that loud almost cartoon like pop sound to it.