Director
Francois Truffaut
Leading Actors/Actresses
Jean-Pierre Leaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Patrick Auffay, Guy Decomble
Genre
Drama, Coming of Age
Language
French
Awards
Nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Won Best Director at Cannes, Nominated for the Palm d'Or at Cannes
Date of Release
1959
Producer
Francois Truffaut
Setting and Context
Post World War II Paris, 1959
Narrator and Point of View
The POV is that of Antoine Doinel
Tone and Mood
Serious with elements of humor from realistic circumstances. Playful, recreating the innocence of childhood.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Antoine. Antagonist is Sourpuss (The French Teacher), Doinel (Antoine's stepfather), and his mother
Major Conflict
Antoine continues to run away from home, steal, and do poorly in school. The adults in his life don't know how to make him behave.
Climax
Antoine is confined to the observation center, and then runs towards freedom.
Foreshadowing
We see "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" engraved on the walls of the school just as Antoine leaves school after believing he's been betrayed by his classmates. This foreshadows the constant betrayals—of loved ones as well as of ideals—that will occur in the film.
Understatement
Truffaut doesn't give the full details of Antoine's past until the end. All we know is that he is a troubled kid, and the director understates his parents' lack of care for him.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
A part of the French New Wave, Truffaut didn't shoot in studios, only on location, and used hand-held cameras to shoot in narrow spaces and hallways, and mounted cameras to cars driving through actual streets, all of which creates a reality in film that hadn't been seen commonly. There are also very long tracking shots, unusual soundtrack choices, and experimentally composed shots throughout.
Allusions
Allusions to Balzac.
Paradox
Even when Antoine is honest and trying his best, he is punished.
Parallelism
The opening title sequence of the film is that of the Eiffel Tower, and the final shot is Antoine at the sea. They represent a journey that one must go on, a journey in search of one's dreams, love and passion as well as the freedom one obtains by setting a course towards them.
