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The 400 Blows is a 1959 French film by François Truffaut which tells the story of a young boy struggling with coming of age. This movie delves into themes of how parental behavior affects children, the cycle of negativity, and the unreachable idea of redemption.

In the beginning, Antoine is disruptive in class and that directly correlates with his home life. He is berated by his mother, his father seems to lack authority, and he listens to his parents consistently fight with each other. Disruptive behavior in children is often a cry for help, or simply learned behavior from surrounding adults. While his father is portrayed as the “good” parent in the beginning, it seems his actions may have negative effects on his child’s behavior, although less obvious than his mother’s behavior. His lack of authority and discipline could lead to Antoine’s struggles with authority figures, such as his teacher. This doesn’t mean that the father has to become cruel to Antoine, it just means that having structure and expectations can often push a child to succeed. This is more relevant in the period of this film than our world today, as modern educational settings tend to be more lenient and inclusive. Another important plot point is when Antoine finds his mother cheating on his father. This did a multitude of things to Antoine. It made him realize he has more control over his mother now that he has this secret, and it opened him up to a world he is too young for. This event caused Antoine to feel both resentment for his mother, and pity for his father. Both of which push his descent even further. This is a situation that forces him to grow up and to accept an undesirable reality. Feeling such strong negative emotions toward parental figures at a young age can cause feelings of despair and solitude. It’s almost as if Antoine realizes here he is genetically destined for failure. It seems he felt like a burden on his parents, particularly while listening to them argue as he tried to fall asleep. A child hearing parents argue about them specifically can have horrible effects, especially when they are so young and understand very little about the world. To Antoine, this is betrayal. Home is all he knows and he feels entirely unwelcome. 

Antoine’s spiral into bad decisions is very similar to addiction cycles. To an extent, he knows what he’s doing is wrong, specifically when he stole and returned the typewriter. Regardless, he can’t break this cycle and continues to make poor decisions that only make his life progressively worse. He drinks and smokes, which was a lot more common at this time even for his age, but is still an attempt at feeling and appearing “grown-up”. He thinks that living an “adult” life will make him feel less out of place.

Oftentimes, people think there is no hope for redemption. Antoine felt this sense of dread as he continued his harmful cycle, whether or not he directly realized it. He spiraled so bad because he felt there was no way to go back to normal. Even when he did try to break through this and improved himself at school, he was scolded by his teacher and family, and accused of cheating on his assignment. This further pushed him down that negative loop because those around him didn’t allow him to redeem himself.

Ultimately, this movie speaks to the struggles of adolescence and how misunderstood young people often are. It is a unique and raw perspective because it delves into childhood and adult themes simultaneously. Films like these help audiences sympathize with people that lead different lives and understand how environment can shape an individual.