Pacing & rhythm

The fade to black that indicates a night's passage here helps to accentuate the film's sense of structure and rhythm. That rhythm is strengthened by the now familiar shot of Antoine leaving for school the next morning to the chipper melody of Jean Constantin's original music. The snitch or spy whom we've seen watching the boys before now runs into the Doinel's building.

31:07 · jump to transcript →

Antoine will seize his opportunity for escape from this barren, loveless, and regimented existence. The rhythm of the editing of the film undergoes a profound transformation at the same time. André Bazin, Truffaut's spiritual and intellectual father, who got him out of military prison and launched his career as a film critic, had his greatest influence on film theory on this very subject of editing.

1:34:48 · jump to transcript →