The 400 Blows and the French New Wave

I think Truffaut accurately captures the frustration of being young and becoming aware of the world. During this time, youth around the world were distancing themselves from their parents' generation. This film positions itself as anti-authority within its characterization as a movie about school and family, since Antoine doesn't fit into either as he's meant to.

McCreary describes the French New Wave as "above all a refusal of accepted patterns of authority and the traditional French hierarchical ordering of society" (63). Antoine rebels against all modes of authority--his parents, his school, and symbolically, his country. He represents a generation no longer interested in being valued for their economic and capitalistic worth, tired of working in a classroom in order to be doomed to the life of their parents'. Antoine represents this particularly well, since his dissatisfaction with his parents is due to their lack of love and general hypocrisy. They preach about character and honor while hardly speaking to each other and having affairs. 

The French New Wave was known for "faster film, lighter cameras and portable sound equipment" (62), which 400 Blows incorporates as well. The film creates a rather depressing portrait of Paris, which is alienating for viewers accustomed to the idea of a radiant city bursting with energy. The viewer sees a working family, and the realism of this film is quite similar to Bicycle Thieves in that sense.

The final shot of this film was particularly satisfying, capturing the feeling of meaninglessness inherent in Antoine's young life. He's frozen in time and for a minute I stayed there with him.