Antoine et Colette



From the beginning of the short film we feel a change of tone. Unlike the 400 Blows, the music and the alarm of the first scene indicate a certain joy of a young man who became responsible.
The cinema, literature and music are the main occupations of Antoine. Antoine and Colette met at a concert; they exchanged books, letters, and went to the cinema, the times he tried to kiss her.
It seems that Truffaut's approach to the film is a love that goes against the usual cliché painted is romantic movie that one can watch in theaters; it is a story that shows a different reality, closer to the reality of life. This love in a way remained to Colette at the stage of simple relation of friendship (which can be observed in language and tone by Colette when he comes to meet her and she refuses to go out with him). Instead of finding love and a girlfriend, he finds a family who quickly adopts.
The theme of the good family is directly in contrast to that of the 400 Blows. The stepfather of Colette is boss of a company, the family is in a good economic situation, the father and mother make a good couple, they are almost together and always smiling; Colette, unlike Antoine, finished her schooling; the stepfather summarized "we have the sun."
Adults are represented differently the first example is that of parents of Colette see before, then we note that the flashback's René's father was restored as a good person because pretended not to have seen Antoine when he was hiding behind the bed.
But He realizes "I've gotten off to a bad start" and René, using a comic tone, content of his relationship with his cousin, shows him her letters and implicitly shows him how a good relationship should be. Again here we have a contrast between the rushed way chosen by Antoine and the patient chosen René: "she cut her hair like a Jean of Arc and I still like her."
The attempt of the kissing scene in the cinema is the time of the fall as it is shown in the screened movie, a way to approach the cinema and the reality. A time chosen Antoine, which does not a romantic approach and ends by failure.