The 400 Blows is a vision of childhood unequalled in the history of the cinema for sensitivity, humor, poignancy and respect for children themselves. With neither sentimentality nor condescension, Truffaut captures the need for freedom and tenderness, the spontaneity and frustrations of being a child in a society made by and for adults. “Making films with children is a great temptation before, something of a panic during, but a great satisfaction after. Even when everything seems to be coming adrift, there’s always something worth saving, and the child is always the best thing on the screen. A child’s truth is something I think I feel absolutely.” (François Truffaut)