1) The film tells the story of Antoine Doinel, a troubled 12-year-old boy who acts out due to neglect from his parents. He frequently skips school and gets into trouble. 2) Antoine's mother yells at him often and his stepfather is harsh, bringing Antoine to a police station after he steals a typewriter. 3) After Antoine is caught skipping school again, his father slaps him. Antoine runs away from home and is eventually sent to a correctional facility, where he plans his escape.

1. Franqie Chan Jia Yi
2014050035
Film & TV Group 1
Assignment 1 (Mr Syed) 19 / 01 / 2015
The 400 Blows
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Written by Francois Truffaut & Georges Charlot
Storyline
This is a story about a young boy name Antoine, that been thought a trouble maker. At the first, scene show he is
having exam in the class room. A student passing a magazine of adult around the class, when the magazine reach
Antoine’s hand he draw on the magazine. However,the teacher found out and ask Antoine to give him the
magazine and punish him that he can’t have his recess time and stay in the classroom. He feel annoy and write
some words on the wall.
When all the student back from recess they all go to the corner of Antoine stand just now and saw what he wrote.
Then the teacher come in and ask what is going on. Antoine is asked to clean the wall. After that, the scene show
a boy keep tear off the book as he can’t make the word nice and clean. Then, Antoine back to the class with water
and wipe the wall. As he wipe, the dirtier it become. The teacher saw this and ask him stop wiping and ask his
parent to pay for that.
Then, he go back home. When he reach home, he put the charcoalin the heater and he wipe his hand on the
curtain. He take the money of his parents from a drawer and get into his parents room and playing with his mother
thing. This show that he hate his mother very much. After that, he prepare the plate for the dinner, as he going to
write a note for their parents about paying for the wall he wrote on it, his mother reach home. After greeting, she
straight away questioning where is the flour she ask him to buy and scold him. This show that his mother wasn’t a
pleasant person.
As he is on his way to get flour, he heard a disgusting conversation of two women and he feel disgusting too.
After that, he back home and meet his father on the way. As he reach home, he ask his father to give him money
but his father seem to be not willing to give the money.
After they have their dinner, his mother ask him to clean the table. Both of his parents is discussing about a plan,
but his mother don’t feel like following it. After that, a small argument happen and his mother ask him to go to
bed. Before bed he also asked to throw the rubbish. The scene also show that his bedroom is outside from the
house and he sleep in a sleeping bag, this show that his parents not really love him.
The next day, he meet his friend Rene, his friend ask him to not to go to school as they already late for school.
They hang out the whole day playing and using his father money. During his way home, he saw his mother
kissing with another guy. A classmate of him name Mauricet, he saw them skipping school and know where they
hide their bag. After that, before he go home, he worry about what excuse going to give for teacher during the
next day. His friend Rene give him the note of his mother wrote and ask Antoine to copy it.

2. When he reach home and copy the note, his father is home. His father ask him to set dinner table for two as his
mother has work at the night with his boss. After the dinner, his father found his book lost and questioning at
Antoine again. Antoine lies to his father that he didn’t take it. During that night, he can’t sleep. When his mother
is home, his mother and his father has a hard quarrelling and he heard it all.
The next day he also skipping class. Mauricet found out and go to his house and try to framed him. Antoine and
Rene plan nicely before they go to school. When he reach school, his teacher caught him and questioned him. His
excuse is her mother dead. This also show that he hates his mother very much. After that, his family find out
about this and go to school. As he was asked to go out, his father grab him and slap on his face and ask him to talk
about this thing at night.
During that night, he doesn’t want to go home. He left a note and leave the house. He stay at Rene’s uncle old
printing plant. When he is sleeping someone go into the place and he need to sneak out from being found. As he
go out, he feel so lonely, cold and hungry. When he walk by a shop, a milk sender is arranging the milk out of the
shop. He stealone of the bottle when nobody notice.
As he walk, its turn morning, he walk to a fountain and get some water to wash his mouth. Then, he run to meet
his friend and get his bag then go to school. During his class,his mother come to look for him and take him home.
His mother try to talk with him to want him to be more behave and make a deal with him.
The next day, it show their sports teacher bring them out for a run. During the run, the student keep getting away
from the line and skip class. The teacher didn’t realize that. At the end, all of the student left. Then, the scene
change to Antoine is reading a book. The book is cheering him up.
The next day in class, his French teacher ask them to write an essay,there he use the word in the book he read
yesterday, he thought his essay is very nice. At that night, he light up a candle inside the small cabinet with the
picture of his idol. During his dinner, the cabinet burned and he was scolded. His mother try to protect him when
his father is scolding him. After some time, his mother suggest them to go for a movie. They have a nice time
together that night.
The next day in the class, his teacher is distributing the essay they wrote. His teacher classified his essay as the
worst because the teacher thought he copying during his writing. Then, he was asked to meet the principal. When
the monitor bring him to the principal, he push the monitor away and escape. Meanwhile, his friend Rene also
been kick out from the class as he answer teacher without manner.
After that, Rene brings Antoine to his house and let him sleep at there. Rene also steal his mother money and
bring Antoine to play. They keep stealing on the way they play. When they were home, Antoine is smoking and
playing with Rene. When Rene’s father get home, he quickly ask Antoine to help to get rid of the smoke. The
father scold him and realize that is someone else in the house but pretended that he doesn’t know.
The next day, they skip the class again and enjoy themselves outside. Then, he stole his step father’s typewriter to
get money for his plan. After he manage to stealit, he and Rene take it all over the way to find a seller and they
almost get cheat by the seller. They can’t sell it and decided to put it back to his step father’s working place.
When he almost able to put it back, the security guard of the office catches him and calls his father.

3. Without any doubt, his father grab him and bring him to the police station to report him. After that, he need to
stay in the temporary jail. During that night, he is woke up by the policeman and asked to go to the track to send
to the prison. During his way, he start to cry silently.
In the prison, he get bad treatment from the policeman. His mother trying to save him but didn’t success. When he
is in the prison, he meet some friends. During their conversation, a guy has been catching back by the policeman
because he ran away from the prison. He still can’t behave himself in the prison and get slap by the policeman.
After that, he meet the guy that ran away and he start to have plan to run away from the prison. The next day, he
has a meet with the psychologist and he speak out all his family problem. During the parents visit day, Rene come
but unable to meet him. He then meet his mother.
The next day, they were giving opportunity to play soccer. When nobody notice, he run away from the court via a
fence. One of the policeman notice and start to chase him but he manage to get away from the policeman. Antoine
keep running and running until the sea. The place that he always want to go.
My opinion toward the story is the storyline is very nice, but the showing way is quite boring. Some sub plots are
not important. The storyline has its own moral value but not very obvious. Some of the part is unnecessary to
show. The story telling is not fascinating enough to make audiences watch it continuously. I think it could be
nicer if some of the story is not be show, such as the boy in the class can’t write it nicely and neatly, both of the
lady conversation about surgery, the scene of many children watching puppet theater.
The Direction
The director give a good instruction to all the actors. They manage to give out the message perfectly. Nonetheless,
the ending is not telling nicely. Not all of the audience can understand what is the director going to explain.
In the story, Antoine, the main actor, able to show the characteristic, no matter on the facial expression or the
talking way. He also able to catch attention of the audience and let audience feel it. The things he did made
audience feelangry of him. Every actor done their acting perfectly and audience can feel it.
Acting
Main Actor (Protagonist)
Antoine Doinel – a 12 years old boy that want to live in his own way due to their parent that less care about him.
Teacher and his parents always think he is the trouble maker. He always like to run away from home and continue
his crimes during his street life.
Supporting Cast
Julien Doinel – step father of Antoine. A man that doesn’t really like Antoine, and bring him to prison when
Antoine steal his typewriter.
Gilberte Doinel – mother of Antoine. She does not like Antoine and always yell at him, but when Antoine is in
trouble, she also try to protect him.
Sourpuss – French teacher of Antoine. He is a cold blooded teacher and always scold student, punish student as
his own wish.

4. Rene Bigey – a friend of Antoine. He sit beside Antoine in the class and always skip class together with Antoine.
He also has a bad behavior but not as dare as Antoine.
The Cinematic Value
The visual understanding of this movie is very nice. Some of the scene actually can just show for awhile but the
movie show it in a long way, it can cause audience feelbored, such as the boys running away from the sport
teacher. And also the last scene,Antoine running away to the sea. This scene is about 5 minutes of Antoine
running away. It shows that the boy is running far, but it can actually be shorter so that audience won’t get bored.
I know it got its own meaning to show that long, but most of the audience can’t get it.
The shot and the composition of framing is very nice, but many of them use full shot. We can’t see the detail of
the expression, the body language, audience can’t feel it much. Some of the shot should use close up, medium
close up, extreme close up and more to let audience feelit.
The Culture
As this is the first time I watch French movie, I can’t really understand about their culture. This movie show a lot
of adult abusing children, I feel terrible to see it, because children will affected by their parent very much and they
will do this to others also.
Source : Wikipedia & IMDB