400 Blows Assignment

A question asked above is how is it different from Citizen Kane, but I am finding one huge similarity between both Kane and Antoine. That similarity is that both of them are kind of the forgotten children by their respective parents. In Citizen Kane, he is sent away by his own parents and basically forgotten by them, leading to his lack of childhood, which causes his downfall later in his life. In this film, The 400 Blows, Antoine is ignored and beaten by his teachers and also ignored by his parents. Antoine is basically alienated from his own society by the elders we are supposed to look up to, our teachers and parents. By the alienation of the individual by Antoine's parents, I am interested to see if this leads to a downfall of some sort later in the film. Because as we saw in Citizen Kane, when one is forgotten by their own parents, it can lead to confusion of one's own life later down the road. That is a similarity I see between the two films and it is intriguing to me, and makes me want to see what kind of outcome this will have on Antoine's life.

Well, in both Pan's Labyrinth and 400 Blows, the children are somewhat ignored and uncared for by the parents, just as Mitch said in relation to Citizen Cane. This ignorance leads to rebellion. Ophelia for example does not like her stepfather, much less get along with him, the same kind of turmoil that Antoine feels towards his mother and her disrespectful manner. In contrast to what Mitch said, I wonder if Antoine's life might spiral upward instead of downhill; hopefully he can be somewhat parallel to Ophelia and one day rule over the parents that caused her so much dread and despair. As for the camera, you are not really aware of it so far. I really feel that this is just a documentary on someone's life so far. It just follows Antoine and you are essentially an outsider to Antoine's world, trying to understand his family's reasons for mistreating him, trying to see through his frustration, and try to sympathize with him and his suffering.

I was very interested when I saw the first part of this film because there is an overbearing theme of social isolation. I am interested and captivated by the story of the boy. No matter how hard he seems to try, he can't break free from his isolation, in fact it actually gets worse over time. In the scene with the teacher, none of the children can gain his approval. The boy wants to keep up in class, but he can't. He keeps ripping his paper and spilling his ink all over his desk and just falls further behind the rest of the class. When the boys run out of the classroom, arms open wide, this shows how they are expressing emotions of freedom. To me this also means that the classroom is like a prison. Every time the boys are inside, they are ridiculed in some way. The teacher turns around and yells at a boy who wasn't doing anything wrong just out of pure instinct. If I were in that classroom I would feel imprisoned as well.

There are many times in the film so far where Antoine has been isolated from society. He is isolated in the classroom repeatedly by the teacher by sending him to the corner. He wants to do well in school but is never given a fair chance because he is shut down by his teacher. This isolation from the teacher leads to the isolation of the other kids in the classroom. Antoine goes to the fair and rides the ride by himself showing him being isolated from other kids outside of school a well. When he gets home and is trying to do his work his homework his parents always have something else for him to do.

I love the presentation of how children should be seen and not heard, and the consequences that such a viewpoint leads to. For example, one night, Antoine tells his mother and father goodnight, and without hardly considering the kindness behind his words, they slam the door on his face and continue their arguing. He is used not only as a servant or personal secretary, but a scapegoat for their marital problems. He can't receive any form of affection from his parents, teachers, or even many of his classmates. So, he lies, steals, and rebels, which inevitably leads to poor results. Antoine has had no childhood, and now he claims he's going on a journey to come of age, which seems slightly ironic to me.

Great comments. The child who is uncared for is a common theme in Kane, Labryinth, and 400 Blows. I was also thinking about how different the style of 400 Blows is from the other two films.

I am enjoying the intricate dynamics between antoine and his parents. Antoine is always cast as an social outsider both at home and at school. His isolation is what makes him feel a need to do things to gain attention. I think the lack of praise and attention given to him by his parents is what overshadows his desire to do well in school. Instead he steals and lies as a means of getting others to notice him.

I like the way the director is shooting the scenes because every scene seems to be close and confined even if the shot is outside. Then there is the relationship of Antoine with the adults who all seem to disrespect him and causes him to prefer exile rather than interacting with them. It's sad how Antoine's parents act towards him especially his mother who treats him like a slave. His father seems to be more caring but is ultimately just as hard on him as his mother.

I feel the director of "400 Blows" does a fantastic job of putting the viewer in the place of Antoine. This is done by using a combination of filming techniques along with manipulation of the plot and dialogue. I believe this is the first film we have watched that directly uses perspective shots to display the literal viewpoints of characters. This is first displayed when Antoine walks into his house after school, and we see from his eye level what his surroundings are like, giving a sense of claustrophobia that helps the viewer realize the tense atmosphere of his house. The viewer also feels a sense of frustration towards the adults in Antoine's life, as they completely ignore any of his thoughts or observations, some of which are fact, and seemingly always find ways of placing blame on him rather than the true culprit.

During the second part of the film, I noticed a secondary theme that could be a contributing factor to the social isolation that the boy is experiencing. He seems to have issues dealing with not being close to his mother. In one scene, he sits at his mother's makeup counter and plays with her things. Not only does this show his attempt to reconnect with her, but it shows a crisis in his identity. He always steals things because he wants attention whether it's good or bad. When he runs away, his mother is worried and holds him in her arms when he returns, which is one of the only time she is shown giving him affection. I think that when the boy steals the milk to drink, he is really missing the nursing of motherhood. He seems to have missed this connection and bonding with his mother when he was little. I think that the lack of connection with his mother is the reason for his isolation. He is always striving for her attention in any way possible.

The need for attention by the individual is apparent throughout this film. The reason he always steals things and acts out of line is because he wants attention form his elders. Often times when kids feel neglected, they long for attention and the only way of getting that attention is through negative actions. This is portrayed perfectly by the director and is interesting to me. Antoine stills feel neglected and, like any child (like Kane), he wants attention from his parents and elders and goes about that need for attention by acting in a negative way. That is because throughout his life, the only way he has gotten attention is through negative actions.

It was really interesting to me how Antoine, when taken up the elevator at the police department, he covers his mouth with his sweater, as if adamant to keeping his action a secret, but as soon as he is prompted by the officials, he removes the turtleneck from his mouth. I also found it interesting that when he was leaving on the carriage/car to the detentionary school he revels on the past and how he looks out of the bars longingly to dapple in the city and do what he used to call "life". While he is reveling on the past, flourishing music begins to play and you, as a viewer can almost feel his ecstasy when he thinks about the past. His sentiment of his past is obviously joyous and one with many interesting childlike experiences.

The ending of "400 Blows" really intrigued me. I felt as though the running scene, despite being carried on for quite some time, showed Antoine's final escape from his oppression by showing the changing and seemingly endless countryside flying by him. This also showed the sophistication of the camerawork used in the film, almost like a showcase scene similar to when antoine was in the spinning ride earlier in the film. The shot of the tide and the ocean just furthers Antoine's realization of the true scale of the world as a whole, and how it is now open to him as he is free from the bars and cages that have until now oppressed him.

I thought the ending was very interesting. The director used a very long shot of Antoine running along the country side and eventually finding himself standing in the sea. This is symbolic of Antoines escaping the oppression of society and how he is about to lead a new and free life.