Similar to how the first two films in the Criterion Collection dealt with different aspects of war, Truffaut's The 400 Blows follows Fellini's Amarcord as another film about growing up. The difference here is that Amarcord was created by a giant of the field, using his clout to continue playing with the form and making the cinematic elite feel uncomfortable by bombarding them with fart and pee-pee gags. The 400 Blows, on the other hand, is the creation of a hungry young director with only a couple short films under his belt. It's no surprise which one of these stands out as the better film.
As I've aged, I found that I'm less interested in coming of age tales. A big problem that I have with many of them is that they portray unlikable bratty youths being destructive and causing havoc for authority figures, all the while assuming that you should be on their side because authority sucks. Perhaps I'm simplifying it too much, but now that I've become an authority figure I see where these people are coming from, and if I had to deal with Antoine Doinel I would undoubtedly be the bad guy in the story. I know his home life kind of sucks (though it's a bit too "women! Am I right?" for my liking), but part of growing up and going to school is learning that there's a world outside of yourself, with rules and expected behavior. Plagiarizing Balzac is not a charming transgression that should be easily forgiven in an English class, nor is stealing a typewriter from his father's workplace. In fact, aside from his father slapping him in front of class, Antoine brings on nearly everything that comes to him just by being a rebellious kid. I'm not absolving his shitty parents, I'm just saying that everyone here has to shoulder the blame for what happens to him.
Now that I've gotten my "Antoine Doinel is an asshole" spiel out of the way, I can point out that this film is brilliant, and a lot of it has to do with every character feeling real and everything having a documentary feel. The youthful shenanigans of Antoine are more realistic than what Fellini was giving us with his complicated piss machines and sex-starved tabacconists. I know that I can't knock a Fellini film for not being realistic, but this film felt more truthful and down to earth than Amarcord, and coming immediately after it in the collection really does Fellini's film no favors. I feel that Fellini is the better filmmaker, but in this case, Truffaut made the better film.
How does it rank with the rest of the previous films? Well, it's not going to compete with Seven Samurai, so that's out. I preferred Grand Illusion, so I can't put The 400 Blows above it despite its importance. The biggest problem I'm having is how the fuck do I choose between this and The Lady Vanishes? Do I go for the fun-filled romp, or do I choose The 400 Blows because of it being one of the greatest French New Wave films ever made? Jesus Christ. As tough as this is, I think I'm going to have to err on the side of "importance" here, and put The 400 Blows above The Lady Vanishes, even though that Lady was more enjoyable than ol' Antoine. In my defense, I enjoyed watching The 400 Blows, and enjoyment is a pretty big factor for me. I may have enjoyed watching The Lady Vanishes more, but I certainly didn't feel as edified as I did with this one.
1. Seven Samurai (1954)
2. Grand Illusion (1937)
3. The 400 Blows (1959)
4. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
5. Amarcord (1973)
Next up: I encounter what may turn out to be the hardest decision I've had to make yet with this list, as I watch Jean Cocteau's fantasy masterpiece, and one of my all-time favorite films, Beauty and the Beast. Does Seven Samurai get knocked down from the top spot? Will I have the balls to do it? You'll just have to wait and see.
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