Considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, Truffaut’s debut feature introduces the director’s alter ego Antoine Doinel portrayed by Jean-Pierre Léaud.
Is Antoine really a “troubled youth”, “unhappy child” or “outcast”? I didn’t have such an impression. True, the teacher picks on Antoine, but he doesn’t spare other kids either. Here’s one of the IMDb trivia:
All the young actors who unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Antoine were used in the classroom scenes.
That’s it: all schoolchildren are like Antoine. And, kids being kids, they enjoy themselves even in the most boring and oppressive environments — or find ways out. A gym class scene is simply perfect.
Another scene is often claimed to be improvised but, according to Laura Truffaut, was not:
My father and Jean-Pierre both knew this was a very important scene and they had a long time to prepare for it. My father just gave him the questions he was to be asked but then told him to come up more or less with his own answers. That worked beautifully.
Co-starring Claire Maurier and Albert Rémy as Antoine’s parents and Patrick Auffay as his best friend René.
Les quatre cents coups opens the new cycle Las cinco edades de Antoine Doinel (The Five Ages of Antoine Doinel) by Filmoteca Canaria.
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