This blog, as titled, will allow me to share first time viewing experiences with you. I have recently come to grasp that there are hundreds of movies that as a film student, film actor and most importantly film lover, should have seen already. So, what I intend to do here is watch a new (to me) movie or two a week and share my thoughts with you and hopefully convince you to open your film watching horizons. Some movies I will love, some movies I will hate and hopefully it will start conversation between you and I, between what we love or do not love.
I will warn that I have never been a great writer when it comes to analyzing books, films or anything, so this is a work in progress. I don't always add enough info, or sometimes I will go far off topic and provide too much info. Hard to say! Mainly, I'd like to use this blog to just bounce thoughts off of its readers (like any other blog I guess) but, I am using films as a topic starter. Hell, I can tell ya now that I will on occasion hardly even write about the film in question. We shall see.
Film #1: Les Quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows)
Director: Francois Truffaut
Year: 1959
Language: French
Arthur's Rating: **** out of ****
The first film I have chosen to write about is a film I have been quite aware of for many years. I knew I needed to see it, and I knew I would love it. Why did I put it off you ask? Well, sometimes films can be so powerful to me, that it can overwhelming. This may seem silly to you, but I believed until now, that I had not been ready to take in Truffaut's "masterpiece." Before viewing the 400 Blows, I had seen two of Francois Truffaut's films, SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER (average) and DAY FOR NIGHT (very good). Prior to becoming a film maker, Truffaut was a film critic. Check out the books that feature his reviews, good stuff. Truffaut is a huge inspiration for my favorite director, Woody Allen, so there is an obvious attraction to his films for me.
The 400 Blows begins with credits over shots of the city of Paris. At the time of this filming, it was rare for films to be shot outside of the studio walls. Truffaut was a large part of the French New Wave of film and many of his techniques are widely seen in film today.
The first non-credits scene take place in a classroom. This scene struck me as familiar right off the bat. In elementary school, I found pleasure in trying to get away with things I should not have been doing. This took place mostly in my 3rd grade class with Mr. Donelson. In this scene, our hero, Antoine Doinel, is caught taking part in the passing around of a pinup photo. Antoine is 14 years old in the scene, where as when I had been causing trouble I was 8 or 9 years old. However, there was an immediate connection with the film.
Now, the city of Paris is of course a complete opposition of Henrietta, Ohio (For those of you reading this who are not aware, this is where I grew up). While of course I love Henrietta area, I believe it be perhaps a good thing that I grew up in the smaller farming community. If I had this huge beautiful city surrounding me, which held who knows how many cinema houses, within walking distance, I believe I would've missed a lot of school. After Antoine is accused of plagiarism, he and his friend begin passing up school to commit minor shoplifting (to pay for) and viewing of films. Truffaut, who has confirmed that The 400 Blows is heavily based on his childhood, says that it was very common for his schoolmates and himself to ditch class for movies. He explains that because of adults all being at work, the early day film audiences were students. Whichever theater opened first, got the customers.
Antoine is not really a bad kid. He just seems to be in the habit of wrong place, wrong time. I have been there, and plenty of the friends I grew up with have been there.
Another scene that I absolutely loved puts Antoine in a carnival ride which I believe is called a rotor. Its the big circle that spins and uses centrifugal force and one's body weight to pin one against the wall. The freedom he is feeling is very recognizable to me. Being a 14 year old boy, there is rarely anything that feels more like imprisonment than school. When one is out of school instead of being in as expected, a sense comes over you that there is nothing you can't do. Of course, being in the farmlands without a drivers license, being free doesn't hugely lend to much adventure haha.
In the end, (without spoiling anything hugely for those who have not scene the film) Antoine finds himself at the edge of the ocean. He earlier states that he has never seen the ocean, but would one day like to. This is a pretty big moment in a kids life. Antoine had made it to somewhere he may have assumed would either never happen, or not happen until longer in his life. Right before the film wraps up, Antoine turns and looks directly into the camera. Freeze frame. Now what? Antoine would likely soon be caught by the authority that he was running from and he is at the edge of the world he knows. There is no where for him to go. He is unaware if his life will continue in crime or what else could possibly come in his future
Despite the age of this film, I believe Truffaut really captured the feelings and thoughts of a 14 year old boy (give or take) perfectly. Jean-Pierre Léaud delivers a phenomenal performance. It is certainly rare that an actor at such a young age (who had no previous experience) can bring so much to a film. Truffaut would at times in the filming, allow Jean-Pierre to improve his lines, and then they would go from there. Most memorably is the scene in which Antoine is meeting with a psychiatrist. Also worth pointing out, is the beautiful score of the film by Jean Constantin. While of course the cars and some buildings and clothes are out of date, the performances and story of The 400 Blows does not seem to have dated by any means. This is a film I believe everyone should see at least once. I will probably look to that I see this film at least once a year. Check out the Criterion release as it has plenty of cool bonus features such as television appearances by Truffaut, some footage from Cannes film festival and a couple informative commentaries.
*****
Along with being a lover of cinema, over the last few years I have found a love for food and cooking. I intend to hopefully continue this blog on my first viewings of films for the first time and to combine it with new foods I have never had prior to. When I viewed The 400 Blows, it was quite late at night and as those of you who are follwing me on Twitter know, I am currently trying to drop a bit of weight, so a late night meal wouldn't be such a great idea ;) So, for future blogs, look forward to new foods, their preparation and more. I'd like to make the food correspond to the film I am watching. We'll see how that goes :)
Anyhow, thanks for reading! Please comment here if you wish, send me a message on MySpace/Facebook or however else you wish to contact me. Let me know how to make this a better blog (besides making my writing better ;) ) Take care, and enjoy the movies!
+Next week I would like to blog on either the western classic SHANE or possibly the hugely popular BAND OF BROTHERS mini-series from HBO. Any thoughts?
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