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The 400 Blows (1959) poster

1959 · drama

The 400 Blows

Directed by François Truffaut1h 39m1959

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.

Our read: The 400 Blows (1959) reads as a sombre, measured, grounded drama entry — measured in intensity, intimate in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.

Movie DNA

Sombre, measured, measured drama, grounded in texture. Ambivalent, intimate, measured.

ElsewhereIMDb8.0134kRT99%TMDB8.02k
  • sombre
  • measured
  • signature
  • intimate
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DNA · twelve axes

How The 400 Blows feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want the purest French New Wave portrait of a restless boy versus indifferent adults.”

ends ambiguousit stays with yousteady all the waygrips by minute 8attention 4/5earns its lengthsubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around
Heads-upchild peril

Skip it tonight — You need subtitles off and a guaranteed happy ending tonight.

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