Auteurship - Francois Truffaut

The filmmaker Francois Truffaut has had a long, prolific career in the film industry, with acting, writing, and producing all under his belt, but its his skills as a director that are most remembered. The 400 Blows, Jules and Jim, and Shoot the Piano Player are three films of his and all bear his distinct style. Each is a simplistic portrayal of life for the working class French and involves common, relatively unstylized situations for the characters. Weather it be a child in prep school or two friends falling in love with the same woman, the situations are undramatic, giving each film a simplistic charm. The films are driven not by action or explanation, but by simple, everyday dialog between friends or family. Simplicity is indeed the charm of each of these movies, with only a few locations in each film. All are common, everyday locations such as a classroom, café, or small apartment, but are given such a naturalistic feel with simple decorations that could be found in anyone’s apartment or home. It can be inferred that Truffaut had a specific artistic vision in mind for each scene and location, making the naturalism all the more believable. Natural lighting and poor sound quality also makes one feel as though they were in the room or on the streets with these characters.

With the simple working class being portrayed, the characters themselves are highly relatable to the audience. There is one character in all three of these films, however, that stands out from the rest. Truffaut had a thing for brunets with a playful outlook on life. His female leads were often portrayed as wild storms of positive emotion and independence. For example, Catherine of Jules and Jim acts on impulse constantly, leaping from a street into the river and having multiple affairs after marrying. These girls are only independent to a certain extent, however. Every film housed a conversation between two characters about marriage, usually making marriage seem like a necessity for women and a burden for men. A conversation in Shoot the Piano Player reveals a man’s desire to get rid of his wife after years of marriage, but he instead decides to stay with his wife. One can see from these views on women that Truffaut wanted the focus on the actions and deviations of the men.

The most distinct element of Truffaut’s films is his character’s long voice-overs explaining certain events in the film or expressing their innermost thoughts on the situations at hand. Such voiceovers provided chances for the films to move quickly throughout time, watching the characters advance in their lives. Truffaut uses all of these elements in his films to place character development first and foremost. By simplifying all other elements in the film, his characters shine even brighter. His attention to dialog and understanding of modern French life allows Truffaut to fully express his vision throughout his multiple films.