18 oktober 2010

Les Quatre Cents Coups (1959)


In the mid 50's it were the editors of the critical film magazine Cahiers du Cinema who would soon lay down the foundation for a revolution in cinema later named 'The New Wave'. Amongst them was Francois Truffaut who had written the 1954 controversial essay "Une Certaine Tendance du Cinéma Français" in which he attacked all of France's cinema. A couple of years later he, as well as fellow colleagues like Godard and Rivette, would actually show what cinema should be like. This is the debut by Truffaut and even at the time it was greatly appreciated which resulted in winning the Cannes 'Best Director' award. He dedicated this movie to the founder of Cahiers du Cinema, André Bazin, who passed away a year earlier.


Truffaut did a great job on casting the talented Jean-Pierre Léaud who gives an astonishing performance as a young rebel. It's shot in the streets of Paris, a great environment to find well dressed people at all times. They must have been wearing the duffle coat a lot these days because the film is full of them. Just as the French beret, but that's no surprise.






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