The cinema saved Francois Truffaut‘s life, he said again and again. It took a delinquent student and gave him something to love, and with the encouragement of Bazin he became a critic and then made this film by his 27th birthday. If the New Wave marks the dividing point between classic and modern cinema (and many think it does), then Truffaut is likely the most beloved of modern directors — the one whose films resonated with the deepest, richest love of moviemaking.

Last week I watched “The 400 Blows” with Matt. This is a film of the French “New Wave,” a style I’d never seen before.

It was an engaging film, and definitely enjoyable, though it is not one of those classics with the power to grab me–more accurately I appreciated it and respected it. But I did not love it as I have many old films (ie, The Big Sleep, Casablanca, All About Eve, It Happened One Night, Rebecca, Notorious, Strangers on the Train, Some Like It Hot, the Manchurian Candidate … this list goes on, but you get the idea).