Bed and Board

Antoine Doinel – protagonist of Truffaut’s The 400 Blows – finds he may not be mature enough for marriage and parenthood. Now married to Christine and working as a ‘floral artist’ (though he dreams of becoming a novelist), Antoine becomes a father… But is he mature enough for parenthood, or even marriage? Comedy combines with character critique in Truffaut’s typically ambivalent, compassionate account of the (belated) onset of Doinel’s adulthood. The couple’s interactions with neighbours and others passing through their courtyard are reminiscent of 30s Renoir. - Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-large, BFI Southbank