Just watched Francois Truffaut’s 1959 directorial debut, The 400 Blows.. wow, what an excellent movie. I usually don’t go in for B&W films, but Truffaut delivers in a big way. The 400 Blows is the story of Antoine Doinel, a mischevious kid growing up in 1950s Paris whose petty crimes get him into all kinds of trouble with his parents, his teachers, and eventually the law. I think Antoine is portrayed as a victim of circumstance, always assumed to be guilty and unable to defend himself properly. Toward the end of the film, he finally speaks frankly with a psychiatrist about what he’s done— of course he’s just exploring the world and pushing a few boundaries, but you see that he rarely (or never) intends to do harm. The movie is very well put together and engaging even for my modern-day taste. It conveys something so classic, so pure and simple about every day ife in 1950s Paris. Was life really like that back then, or is Truffaut romanticising it a bit? Aside from being a good story, could this be looked back on as a historical snapshot of the times? Having not been alive at the time I suppose I can’t say whether it’s accurate. But it looks nice.