"Zero de conduite" is about a rebellion in a boarding school for boys.
In the limited oeuvre of Jean Vigo it is somewhat of a disappointment in between "A propos de Nice" (1930) and "L'Atalante" (1934).
The film looks like the adaptation of a novel about scoundrels. It looks very much like a '50s movie and has not aged well. You can say that if it looks like a '50s movie it was ahead of its time at the time of release, but that's a bit too optimistic for me. Besides it is an argument that is of no value for those watching the movie today.
"Zero de conduite" inspired Francois Truffaut to make "The 400 blows" (1959) and Lindsay Anderson to make "If" (1966). Seen in this way it has made a contribution to film fistory after all.
There is one scene that caught especially my attention. During an open house of the school (by the way the strangest open house I have ever seen) the row of chairs behind the management of the school is evidently occupied by dolls. Was this done on purpose or out of budgetary constraints, that's the question.
In the limited oeuvre of Jean Vigo it is somewhat of a disappointment in between "A propos de Nice" (1930) and "L'Atalante" (1934).
The film looks like the adaptation of a novel about scoundrels. It looks very much like a '50s movie and has not aged well. You can say that if it looks like a '50s movie it was ahead of its time at the time of release, but that's a bit too optimistic for me. Besides it is an argument that is of no value for those watching the movie today.
"Zero de conduite" inspired Francois Truffaut to make "The 400 blows" (1959) and Lindsay Anderson to make "If" (1966). Seen in this way it has made a contribution to film fistory after all.
There is one scene that caught especially my attention. During an open house of the school (by the way the strangest open house I have ever seen) the row of chairs behind the management of the school is evidently occupied by dolls. Was this done on purpose or out of budgetary constraints, that's the question.