Autobiography in The 400 Blows: A Quest for Freedom Swati Panda College

Steven Spielberg unabashedly claimed that Francois Truffaut is the man who loves cinema the most than anyone else ever. Which means he himself is included. In many of his interviews, Truffaut explained how the only thing he ever did was either make films, watch films, go to the theatre, or read books. Hit by a hard and troubled childhood, he had taken refuge in cinema. The 400 Blows is a torchbearer of the French New Wave movement as well as a film close to Truffaut’s heart.

The film being an autobiographical attempt by him, he has poured out all the painful miseries of his childhood in the most poetic manner. Using a juxtaposition of realism and surrealism, the movie depicts how children are treated, or rather mistreated, by adults, especially their parents. It brings out the myriad and innocent worlds of a child and their lack of clarity in life. Director Francois Truffaut is credited with introducing child actor Jean Pierre Leaude, who plays himself as the character named "Antoine Doinel”.

Regarding the narration of the movie, you all know he used cinematic narration in the first person singular. But the question is, why did he? Because he was entering into the whole narration as an author since it is his story. He wanted...