It didn't quite hit me the way I had hoped. Beautiful though

One of my favourite Frech films.

A film about life. If Montaigne wrote an essay about this film, he might see himself. He led a noble’s life, but he could connect with the expression of daily moments. He would feel the heartbeat of the editing and the characters. I love this movie.

Such a simple, expressive and thematically rich coming-of-age story that really does depict the hopes, aspirations and challenges of growing up in a beautiful and sympathetic way. Some scenes could have been structured a tad better but that's about it. This classic definitely earns its respect and admiration.

Antoine Doinel está entrando na adolescência. Tem problemas na escola. Tem problemas em casa. Aos poucos, de simples mentiras e faltas à escola, ele vai cometendo pequenas deliquências. Primeiro filme de François Truffaut, é quase autobiográfico. O filme tem doses de humor com as pequenas desobediências de Antoine e seus colegas, que evoluem para o drama.

Maybe a bit overrated. It's undoubtedly a great movie though it's nothing more than ahead of it's time. There are plenty of other movies that are ahead of their time and don't have as good reviews. Probably won't end up watching again, not because I didn't like it just because it wasn't very unique or interesting in any way.

Francois Truffaut's directorial debut that paints a simply sordid, disquieting, and morose picture of the tough-to-swallow elements of adolescence soars due to its beautiful cinematography, sympathetic performances, and touchingly cold screenplay. A genuine French masterwork.

It is hard to not think about your childhood nostalgically. Still a great movie after all these years and I do not recall any other movie that captures our childhoods in such a universal way.

Sad tale of a 14-year-old boy who has no support at home or school. In fact, he is put down at every turn. Unsure whether the end means he feels happy at finally seeing the ocean, or totally lost in the depths of the water &/or his dreadful life.

Filme levemente maçante, assim como qualquer outro da época da nouvelle vague. Fotografia muito boa, que complementa um enredo interessante, que nos faz refletir sobre a capacidade que a vida, as autoridades e até quem amamos têm de serem incompreensivos com os problemas que lhe são alheios. É legal ver a França da época retratada de maneira tão fiel, e saber que esse filme tão bom foi feito com pouquissimo dinheiro me motiva a dar uma nota maior.

Quite simply, one of the greatest works of art of the 20th century. I will never tire of it. Kudos to Criterion for including two commentary tracks, one in French (with subtitles) from Truffaut's friend since childhood, who was the inspiration for one of the characters. The single negative review – mistakenly dated by Rotten Tomatoes as 15 September 2021 – is by Manny Farber in a publication called "The New Leader" and was published in the issue dated 22 February 1960. Farber's article is entitled "New Low Pressure Films by French Amateurs Start Small and Cold and Stay That Way". The magazine's last print edition was in 2006 and it's last online edition in 2010. Does this sound open-minded and relative to any of today's readers? Were it not for this "review" the film would take its rightful place as 100% Fresh.

Funny, sad, and frank. Great performances too.

the ending scene is one of my favorites

A landmark of French cinema, the highly influential The 400 Blows tells the story of Antoine Doinel, a young boy who feels alienated by his seemingly unloving parents, school authorities who have labeled him unfairly (or so he believes), and a society that he is unable to understand. Francois Truffaut's debut film is a powerful examination of disaffected youth, filled with memorable and explosive scenes that never fail to ring true. While often considered a cornerstone of the French New Wave, Truffaut's film lacks many of the stylistic excesses (no jump cuts!!) of the movement and is content to let the events play out in a more traditional visual style. The 400 Blows is quality cinema from beginning to end, thanks to Truffaut's restrained direction and the performance of Jean-Pierre Leaud as the young protagonist.

Long live Antoine Doinel.

One of the defining films of the French New Wave, it is not only film snobs that will be moved by the raw freedom of 'The 400 Blows'.

"The 400 Blows" captures the challenges of being a kid and feeling helpless. This movie feels a lot more honest than many other movies about adolescence. The movie is somewhat bleak at times but it remains fascinating in its story and character portrayals. It is one of those movies that I appreciated more than I enjoyed but it is definitely the type of film that can be discussed forever, and that gives it that timeless feel. Overall, it is a good film that makes many bold statements and is tougher and more honest than a lot of other films in the same genre.

The plot was original and worthy of a story, but despite the short runtime, it sure dragged on due to the repetitive, predictable, and unenjoyable events. It may be well done artistically in several respects, like the unique opening where the camera circled the Eiffel Tower, but it's not an entertaining, thought provoking, or emotional film. However, some of the main characters had some depth to them, like the dad being a nice chap half the time. Furthermore, the acting was well done, the sets/props/costumes were excellent, there was some nice cinematography and symbolism (e.g. the shots through the bars/fences), the visual effects (e.g. for the spinning ride) were decent, and the soundtrack had some beautiful bits in it. Some cinematography was too handheldy though.

Antoine running in the wilderness, without music, panoramic presentation, all natural ambient sound, one minute and twenty seconds. For the vast majority of people in this world, freedom exists only on the run, meaning only the complete release of long-repressed emotions, freedom itself is confused and fragile.

With an extremely long and boring prologue of about an hour, "The 400 blows" rewards the viewer's patience with about 20 minutes of the purest cinematographic art. It was not the best of the best as everybody says. 6/10