Essential Arthouse: The 400 Blows (1959)
A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime. (NR, 99 min.)
Showtimes
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
7:00 PM
Essential Arthouse: This monthly series showcases “essential arthouse” films everyone should see on the big screen. Arthouse is a film genre which encompasses films where the content and style – often artistic or experimental – adhere with as little compromise as possible to the filmmakers’ personal artistic vision. This series is Free for Members.
François Truffaut’s first feature is also his most personal. Told through the eyes of Truffaut’s cinematic counterpart, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), The 400 Blows sensitively re-creates the trials of Truffaut’s own childhood, unsentimentally portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, and petty crime. The film marked Truffaut’s passage from leading critic to trailblazing auteur of the French New Wave.
Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier
Director: François Truffaut
Language: French
Genre: Drama, Coming of Age
"Jean-Pierre Léaud’s revelatory turn."
— Kathleen Sachs, Chicago Reader
"Vibrant, visually exciting and emotionally resonant."
— Nick Dawson, Empire Magazine
"It would be impossible to screen a more infectious film than The 400 Blows."
— Jacoba Atlas, Los Angeles Free Press
"Truffaut imbues the movie with the irrepressible energy and optimism of youth."
— Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm
"François Truffaut's iconoclastic feature debut and one of the most enduring examples of the French New Wave."
— Jon Fortgang, Film4
"[The 400 Blows'] most prevalent connection to the then burgeoning French New Wave is its message of freedom"
— Robert Daniels, 812filmreviews
"It's a cornerstone of the French New Wave, and one of the greatest movies about childhood, from anywhere, ever."
— Anthony Quinn, Independent (UK)
"Truffaut's brilliant debut, one of the seminal works of the New Wave, is a captivating autobiographical chronicle of a troubled youth."
— Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
"Film connoisseurs should try not to miss it. François Truffaut's first movie has instantly established him as one of the most gifted directors in the business."
— Clyde Gilmour, Maclean's Magazine
"It's streetwise stuff, shot in a vigorous on-the-hoof style, but also full of joy, both in its blissfully comic moments and in Doinel's telling passion for moviegoing."
— Kevin Harley, Total Film
"Distinguished by its naturalistic, quasi-documentary approach and an extraordinary central performance from the 12-year-old Jean-Pierre Léaud, this is a blisteringly authentic story."
— Wendy Ide, The Times (UK)
"Without ever being sentimental, the film draws a moving contrast between the purity, honesty and sheer courage of the boy and the corruption or obtuseness of the adults who control his life."
— Dwight MacDonald, Esquire Magazine
"To sum up, what shall I say? This: Les 400 Coups will be a film signed Frankness. Rapidity. Art. Novelty. Cinematograph. Originality. Impertinence. Seriousness. Tragedy. Renovation. Ubu-Roi. Fantasy. Ferocity. Affection. Universality. Tenderness."
— Jean-Luc Godard, Cahiers du Cinéma
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