a review of 四百击

The 400 Blows is a beautiful, amazingly timeless tale about how a boy gradually descends into a life of crime, stimulated by a detached upbringing. The film is a semi-autobiography of its legendary director Francois Truffaut, and it was one of Akira Kurosawa's favorite films. I can understand why. Truffaut managed to establish a sense of realism and matter-of-factness that was rare for the time, when a lot of films still felt like melodramatic stage-plays. The acting is impressively natural, the black and white cinematography adds to the authenticity, and I loved the poetic ending.