ANTOINE ET COLLETTE/ANTOINE AND COLLETTE (François Truffaut, 1962)

date watched: May 19, 2009

location watched: At home. Private copy of The Adventures of Antoine Doinel DVD Box Set

I had watched 400 Blows (1959) a long time ago, but through this "grown-up" version of Antoine, I was able to re-live the marvels of a little French rebel again.

Doinel and Jean-Pierre Léaud are often interchangeable, since it is Doinel that gave Léaud life, so to speak; Truffaut may have already seen Léaud in his dreams, and it was a miracle that he came to the auditions for 400 Blows. Many French people have told Truffaut that he and Léaud resembled each other, and still other people thought they were father and son! Although Truffaut never explicitly said that Doinel's character was based on his own life, the so-called resemblance may have given it away.

This box set is invaluable because of all the extra commentaries, footage, and booklet that comes with the DVDs. It's interesting to see the pre-screenplay writings, because they are so different from the treatments one sees today. Various screenwriting programs and conventions have changed scripts into uniform productions, but back then, they had a more free-reign quality to them. It really brought to light the writer and not the technician.

Antoine falls in love with Collette, only to find, disappointingly, that Collette's parents are more in love with him than Collette is. Truffaut claimed that he wanted to make a point about the two generations' interaction: just because our parents loved doing something, or just because they had plans for us, doesn't mean that we'll follow through; similarly, just because Collette's parents love Antoine doesn't mean she'll love him back. The only complaint Antoine can angrily spit out to his childhood friend, René (with whom Antoine exchanges "love stories"), is, "She talks like a guy!" I almost think that if Antoine hadn't moved across the street from Collette, their love story would have been realized. After all, we often do things just to spite or go in opposition to our parents' wishes, right?