Synopsis
In a repressive boarding school with rigid rules of behavior, four boys decide to rebel against the director on a celebration day.
Zero for Conduct
1933 ‘Zéro de conduite : Jeunes diables au collège’ Directed by Jean Vigo
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Alternative Titles
Zero de Condulta, 품행 제로
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One year before his longstanding feature-film achievement L'Atalante (1934), Jean Vigo's enchanting anarchich short masterpiece has a huge heart placed in the middle of it all, despite the negativity in the depiction of the boarding school, the meanness of the school authorities and harsh conditions of the students.
Correct observations have been made pointing out the fact that the spirit of this film was an influence on Lindsay Anderson's If.... (1968), which is actually considered as a remake by several sources, including IMDB, as both circle around the intentions of the students to organize an uprising, and both have key scenes which visual techniques highlight the intensity of the moment (the pillow fight sequence was extraordinary). Still, this one has…
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Four rebellious young boys at a repressive French boarding school plot and execute a revolt against their teachers and take over the school. Zero for Conduct is a French featurette, merely 42 minutes long, which scores some points for a handful of interesting scenes from a technical standpoint (the pillow fight for example), but overall it’s too flimsy to ever get me engaged. I don’t have all that much to say about it. Described as both comedy and drama, I thought it was neither funny nor moving, mostly because barring the one boy calling out his teacher for being “full of shit”, none of these kids have much character (and even he’s second-rate at best). That one-line synopsis also doesn’t takeoff until past the film’s midway point, so the first half is pretty aimlessly meandering; it’s so short already, it needed the direction from the get-go.
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Director Jean Vigo has been continuously idolised by the pioneers of the French New Wave movement despite only completing four features before his untimely death at the age of twenty-nine, and this third film is based primarily on his personal experiences in a boarding school. A particular reading of the film could draw parallels with the boarding school pupils serving as a metaphor for the encapsulation of a society being regulated heavily by conservative figures of authority who require toppling, and this caused enough concern for the French government of the day to ban the film for twelve years after its premiere.
It amplifies the division between how the pupils conduct themselves and how their encircling lecturers are instructing them…
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my second jean vigo film!
while this film touches on some interesting topics like anarchism (hence the 12-year ban following its premiere) and leaves plenty of room for interpretations, i personally wasn’t really able to connect with any parts of the story. even though the premise sounded intriguing, and 45 minutes didn’t seem like a long runtime, it took me quite some time to figure out what was going on and what to pay my attention to (or maybe i just wasn’t in the right mindset?). it’s obviously not the movie’s fault that my brain is basically one remaining brain cell, but i suppose part of why it was so difficult for me to follow the storyline was because of… -
Honestly, for a 41 minute film, this was a bit of a chore to get through. Maybe it's because I watched it near midnight but I've watched many films at odd times of the night, so I'm not quite sure.
Actually, I think a lot of things were done well, or at least interestingly in the film. For one, the caricaturistic authority figures in Zero for Conduct. We have one seemingly omniscient house-master with a penchant for snooping through the boys belongings. A headmaster, who is probably shorter than Danny DeVito, and probably has a voice squeakier than a mouse. And a teacher, who fancies himself somewhat of a clown -- complete with Chaplin impersonations and spontaneous handstands.
Even the…
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Another one of those historically important films that I just couldn't vibe with.
The slow-motion pillow fight is poetic. The idea of rebelling against the institution can be interesting. What I don't enjoy about a lot of these older important movies is simply how uninteresting they are now. Like, "kids rebel" sums up the entire movie, and that's all that happens as well. I didn't feel anything watching this.
Also, its just forgettable to me. These weren't characters, but rather caricatures, outlines for would-be characters if this were longer than 45 minutes. Though it is a shame it was never finished, because just as things got semi-interesting, the film ended.
I can't recommend it.
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Jean Vigo's classic anarchic and surreal short film about French boys rebelling against bureaucratic authoritarian (and stupidly inept) teachers is hugely influential on two of my favourite films - François Truffaut's 'Les quatre cents coups' and Lindsay Anderson's 'If...'
Released in 1933 it still feels fresh as a daisy to me, especially in the restored and extended version. Although, admittedly, the camera tricks Vigo experimented with look a bit wonky. But there are some stunning set pieces and it's very funny and irreverent.
Vive la révolution!
Watched on MUBI. -
Director Jean Vigo instilled the entire promise and essence of film into the 40-minute runtime of “Zero for Conduct.”
Born to a legendary anarchist father, Vigo took that revolutionary ardor to his art in “Zero.” A short tale about revolting grade school boys, Vigo used the simple plot as a parable about classism and youth oppression.
Of course, it was banned in France for over a decade on its original release.
Beyond its social (im)pertinence and nostalgia, Vigo also created some of his legendarily dreamlike images in “Zero.”
Much like the underwater scene in Vigo’s next work, “L’Atalante,” the slow motion pillow battle in “Zero” is a fleeting moment of illusory elation. It exists in cinema. It could exist only in cinema. We are still chasing after its spirit; 90 years later.
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My first sip of Jean Vigo's poetic realism was served in a small scale, pure in characters and heartwarming in execution. It also felt highly personal, like it was directly excerpted from Jean Vigo's retrospective memory about his first contact with anarchy through rebellious heartthrob. It is essential as it is influential that without this little gem, the great films such as The 400 Blows and Dead Poets Society might not even exist.
Using adult's point of view yet still keeping the youthful soul intact, this short masterpiece was played like a compassionate letter to children's vulnerability through showcases of playful and surrealistic acts of innocent anarchy fighting against repressive boarding school system. Joyous and full of energy. The way…
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☆"Beans again!"☆
I dunno. I like beans a lot.
In his featurette Zéro de conduite ["Zero for Conduct"], banned in France for over a decade for its critical shot at the education system which director Jean Vigo experienced as a boy, the brutal boarding school upbringing is assailed in what's at first a charming and funny look at boys just trying to be boys.
But under the surface of the farcical comedy is a revelation of the innocence and harmless rule-breaking of the boys being stifled by the bureaucracy and strict obedience of the boarding school which seems more apt to punish than teach. Schoolboy anarchy is repressed by stodgy adults who see no value in the hijinks and camaraderie…
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[made 1933]
If... and Dead Poet's Society were directly inspired by scenes from this film, and it also influenced The 400 Blows. Yet it's almost unknown among non-cinephiles. (I love two of those films and quite like DPS, and hadn't heard its name until today when I read an article about L'atalante mentioning that Jean Vigo's entire filmography could easily be watched in one afternoon.)The school here is not as brutal or regimented as the institution in If... but I still find I can't write this review without making it a response to this one which says that the children's punishments seem quite justified.
Zéro de conduite is told from the children's point of view - though I think…