Seeing someone commenting on the genius performance of the little protagonist, I don't agree. I think his performance in the film is a mixture of naturalness and dullness, which is in line with the life-style of non-professional actors advocated in the new wave Whether it was being slapped, kicked out of the classroom, or seeing his mother cheating on a man on the street, the little actor didn't seem to have any special expressions. In the end, he walked towards the camera by the sea, and the camera came first. Pushed to him and gave him a close-up, I can't describe his expression at that time, lost? confused? It doesn't seem to be. Perhaps Truffaut requested it on purpose?
Regarding the long shot at the end, I think it is actually composed of three not so long long shots, one is a follow-up shot on the road, the other is a follow-up shot down the mountain, shaking to the sea, and then the back of the protagonist walking away on the mountain road. One was running on the beach and running to the camera. I don't know why, but I think the little protagonist's body running on the beach looks stiff, a bit like running for the sake of running.
Everyone in this movie seems to have their own problems.
Needless to say, the little protagonist, the illegitimate son of his mother, was fostered by his adoptive mother and grandmother since he was a child. He lived with his biological parents at the age of eight, but his mother always despised him.
That friend's parents are at odds, and the big house doesn't have the warmth of a family.
Dad's career was unsuccessful, and his wife cheated on her outside.
My mother has been criticized since she was a child, and her marriage is not happy after bringing her children and family.
That teacher's daily task is to keep yelling in class.
I personally feel sympathy for the little protagonist, and I don't think he is a bad boy at all.
When someone else's picture of a woman was passed on to him and he was scolded by the teacher, he didn't defend himself at all, just doodled on the wall to vent.
When he found out that his mother cheated on his father, even when he was sent to the correctional center, he did not tell the truth. At the end of the film, his mother misunderstood him and said many very hurtful things.
After entering the correctional center, he expressed his thoughts without reservation, but it was a pity that those who heard these thoughts were strangers who had nothing to do with him.
If such a child can give him a little more love, he can grow into a very good person. Unfortunately, what he gets is only the misunderstanding of his selfish mother and the slap in the face of his father. He can no longer be tolerated in his family. How foreign parents discipline their children's education. The father found out that his son had stolen the typewriter, and sent his child to the police station to ask the police to punish him, but can he grow into a good person?
Obviously not. After entering the correctional facility, there is a scene where the protagonist is standing in front of the window watching, another scene is his friends pouring into the gate with his mother and the mothers of other students, he runs downstairs with a smile on his face, Who do you think his smile is for?
Not so much for my mother, but for the friend who once brought him home. The irony is that friends are not allowed to see him, but the cold mother has the qualifications to see him, and throws him a lot of cold words.
So far, he has completely cut off contact with the outside world. I saw some comments that he fled to the seaside and felt free when he saw the vast sea. Maybe everyone has their own movie viewing experience. I don't think he feels free. but feel confused.
He fled because he didn't like the restrained environment. He just wanted to escape, but he had nowhere to go. The sea was just a more symbolic place that Truffaut chose. His emptiness and loneliness It just fits the little protagonist's state of mind and the future in which he can't see the way forward.
We can imagine, if the movie didn't stop on his face and developed downwards, it is not difficult to guess the ending of waiting for him, no matter how we conceived it, in the social environment at that time, in the family background of the protagonist, he There can be no bright future.
When he returned home, it was difficult for his parents to accept him.
Maybe he'll go to a friend's place, but it's not a long-term solution after all.
In the end, he could only go back to that correctional center, where he was locked up with the hopeless children and spent their miserable youth.
But we can't expect too much. Movies are meant to raise problems, not solve them.
The consolation is that this film is Truffaut’s own semi-autobiographical film. Since the protagonist can grow into an international director like Truffaut, we can still have hope. No matter what era and what educational system, What is truly beautiful cannot be killed.
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