The film The 400 Blows, directed by François Truffaut, is told from the perspective of young Antoine Doinel who is a bit of a troublemaker. His teachers and parents have difficulty keeping him in line. The film shows Antoine coming of age and, being a french film, achieves this through editing techniques. For example, dissolves and fades are frequently used cuts representing his innocents fading and signifying a change in his life.
At the beginning of the movie, Antoine has an established routine of coming home from school, doing chores, setting the table, then doing his homework. His mother is portrayed to be cold, while he has a good relationship with his father. One day, Antoine is running late to school when his friend catches up to him along the way. As they walk, he convinces Antoine to skip school. While they are out, he sees his mother kissing a man he has never seen before. This moment begins Antoine’s characterization portraying his coming of age.
Antoine needs a note upon his return to school the next day however, not wanting to tell his parents, he tells his teacher his mother died as an excuse. When he is caught in his lie, he runs away from home. This results in him starting to steal, for instance the bottle of milk, when he is on his own. His actions of lying and theft, contribute to the tarnishing of his innocence. This is further seen upon his return home and he overhears his parents fighting as a result of their difficulties with him. The next day at school his teacher taunts “Doinel, I bet you got it last night”. In his teacher and parents, the viewer sees how adults, who are supposed to be mentors to Antoine, mistreat him and set into motion the loss of his innocence. However, when he is back home, he has broken his routine of doing chores, and instead he is seen laying on the couch, reading papers, and smoking. This further feeds into his parents frustration. After stealing a typewriter with his friend, his father sends him to a reform school. Once his mother comes to visit, she tells him that his father had washed his hands of him. She also states that he finally got what he wanted; to be on his own. The film ends after Antoine runs away from the reform school and he reaches the seashore, which he has never seen before. This end feels incomplete and leaves the viewer with many questions regarding Antoine’s future. However, this may have been intentional to represent Antoine’s release to the real world on his own.
Intro to Film Studies 
Ava,
This post is nicely focused on the coming of age theme explored in Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows. By taking up this topic, you touch upon one of the many ways in which The 400 Blows, and the French New Wave more generally, was new: FNW directors not only focused on young characters but also refused to present childhood and young adulthood in an idealized manner. Antoine’s childhood is painful, and you nicely identify one of the primary reasons why: his relationship with his mother is fraught, especially after he catches her in an act of infidelity. (In fact, I wanted to hear more about why you think this marks a turning point in his development.) I am also glad that you discuss the ending. Truffaut’s film withholds easy closure–another feature of FNW narratives–forcing viewers not only to confront Antoine’s pain and confusion but also build their own interpretations about what his future holds.
Solid post,
MT
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