Truffaut's first feature-length film met with great approval from his critics.

A somwhat autobiographical story of Truffaut's own childhood, The 400 Blows tells the story of Antoine Doinel, a 14-year-old schoolboy. Antoine is not a good student and always seems to be in trouble at school. At home he is disregarded by his parents, who have better things to do. He starts to play truant and spends a lot of his time in cinemas. But he soon finds that his parents will not tolerate this behaviour.