Sandy’s review published on Letterboxd:
I've been hemming and hawing over this film all day. Having only seen Fahrenheit 451, I hesitate to comment on Truffaut's work. It's as if I were to say about Hitchcock's Rear Window, "Hey, have you noticed that everything is through that nosy Jeff's point of view?" It's laughable. I mean books have been written on 400 Blows and now I get to say something new? :)
So, here's my idea. If all of you Truffaut connoisseurs don't mind, I'm going to go over here and talk to my imaginary friend. You know, the one who knows as little as I do. And then I'll come back and mingle... (much less embarrassing this way)
Hey Jack, do you remember when I was talking about The Kid With a Bike last week and how the Dardenne brothers built the story around the premise of what could change the course of a kid who's destined to go down the path of juvenile delinquency? They wanted to know what it would take to break that chain. Well, I just saw the opposite film last night. The premise here is, how do you take a good natured kid, one who wants to please his parents by doing his chores and who is creative and curious and then take every opportunity to build that chain of delinquency around him? Guess what? It can be done. Just as Samantha, in the other movie, takes any opportunity to show commitment and direction, in this one, each adult takes any opportunity to strengthen Antoine Doinel's faulty thinking. I shouldn't say any, because there are a few moments where they step up to the plate--the father cooking with Antoine and the family going to the movies together, but they are few and far between and not nearly enough to offset the damage that is being done by condemning, ignoring and threatening. At so many junctures, things could be turned around and they blow it. Bummer. All I can do is sit and watch it unfold.
I have to tell you about two scenes. One is the famous puppet show through the eyes of the young audience. I don't know how Truffaut did it, but he filmed them reacting to the show, without them being aware of it. Never have I seen innocence captured so beautifully. The other scene is my favorite in the movie. Doinel is being interviewed by a psychologist and his answers are completely natural and honest. Never have I seen innocence captured so heartbreakingly.