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May 29, 2008
the 400 blows
Another French film, also from the late 50's. And this is another one where there isn't much story. A boy has trouble at home and in school so he decides to run away and steals a typewriter from his father's office to make some money. He gets caught and goes to a delinquent school.
That's it. That's the whole story. Not a bad setup, but that's exactly it. It's a setup. Not a whole film. That's the end of act one! Now it could be the whole story if it were filled with great character studies, or amazing dialogue, or compelling relationships. But it's not.
Now I criticize, but as always there is much to like. It's shot very well (it's beautiful), it coaxes great performances out of children, and as slow moving as the film is, there was always something that kept me wanting to watch. But really, you have to have a fairly deep appreciation of film to actually want to watch this film.
2 out of 4
Posted by jason on May 29, 2008 01:24 AM
