The 400 Blows Essay Questions

Describe some instances of playful filming styles that might be understood as representative of the French New Wave.

The opening shots of the film are themselves playful and groundbreaking for the time the film was released. We see Paris from what seems like the window of a car, and the camera engages in long tracking shots as the car seems to move closer and closer to Paris' most iconic structure, the Eiffel Tower.

Additionally, the shots of the classroom are unique because many of them are from the perspective of the front of the room. We see the students staring up at the front of the classroom as if from the teacher's desk. This style is echoed later on when we see the children watching the puppet show, as though the camera is on the stage itself. We see the children looking with wide eyes at the stage.

Another groundbreaking filming choice in the film is the very long tracking shot of Antoine running away from the observation center. The camera follows him running for a very long time. Nothing else is happening, but we are watching Antoine make his escape for nearly two minutes. Then, when he is on the beach, he turns and looks at the camera. This breaking of the illusion of the camera's invisibility was unique for its time.

Why is Antoine so disobedient?

While it is never explicitly outlined, Antoine's disobedience seems to be tied to a number of factors. For one thing, his school is not so interested in fostering intellectual curiosity and depth as it is in drilling lessons into students. Antoine, a more imaginative and dreamy student, doesn't do well in this kind of learning environment and wants to break free so that he can do things that have an actual bearing on the world. Secondly, his home life is less than ideal. His father is actually his stepfather and his mother didn't want to have him, but was dissuaded from having an abortion. Antoine's parents do not show him very much affection, and his life is dull and inhibited. These various factors seem to contribute to Antoine's rebellious attitude.

What is the significance of the ocean in the film?

At one point, Antoine's best friend René asks him if he's ever been to the ocean and Antoine tells him that he has not. It seems to be one of Antoine's main desires to get to see the ocean. When his mother is looking for a place to send Antoine, she hopes that she can send him to an observation center that is near the ocean. By the end of the film, Antoine has escaped from the observation center and is finally able to see the ocean for the first time. The ocean represents his sense of freedom and his ability to envision an open-ended future for himself. In the city he is subject to oppressive conditions and small spaces, hardly enough room to dream and imagine the future. The view of the ocean represents Antoine's ability to feel free and independent.

Is Antoine intelligent?

In spite of his inability to do well in traditional school environments, Antoine seems to be exceptionally intelligent, and it is perhaps this free-spirited intellect that makes him so ill-suited for traditional education. While he is able to throw himself into a study of Balzac, it is only after his mother has incentivized his intellectual curiosity with the promise of monetary rewards. He wants nothing more than to be an independent adult and make his own meaning in the world. While he gets into a lot of trouble at school, and he doesn't do well in his classes, it can be argued that Antoine is an especially curious and intelligent character, if not in the traditional ways.

What are some traits associated with the French New Wave?

While it is difficult to pin down the exact attributes of films from the French New Wave, certain traits do exemplify the aesthetics of this particular style. The New Wave was defined by its filmmakers' authorial or "auteur" status, in that, the film is very much attributed to the particular filmmaker, and the director is treated as a creator of a work of art. Additionally, the French New Wave was defined by a playful and experimental relationship to the ways scenes could be shot. Shooting often happened on location, and handheld cameras were often used. The "jump cut," in which a scene cuts abruptly forward or backward in time, was also central to the style of the French New Wave. In terms of content, narratives in films from the French New Wave often focused on non-traditional protagonists, characters who weren't readily sympathetic or relatable, but that had a more complex and, at times, compelling psychology.