The 400 Blows

Drama 99 min Masterpiece Auteur & New Wave

A troubled Parisian boy, neglected by his parents, falls into petty crime and reform school.

Why It Matters

Launched the French New Wave. The freeze-frame ending is one of cinema's most famous shots.

Historical Context

France navigating decolonization, the Algerian war, and a postwar generation lost between tradition and modernity.

Historical Forces at Play

Cold War / Nuclear Anxiety · 1947

The bomb, the Red Menace, and the space race turbocharged science fiction. Giant ants, alien invasions, and body-snatchers were all metaphors for communist infiltration or nuclear dread.

Space Race · 1957

Sputnik shock accelerated public fascination with space. From The Fly to 2001, cinema processed the question: what lies beyond our world?