Pretty great, but also overwhelming: Vigo clearly had a good 80 or 90 minutes worth of movie that he had to fit into half the running time.
Zero for Conduct (1933)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:12
Fresh:11
Rotten:1
Average Rating:8.9/10
Runtime: 50 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: With ZERO FOR CONDUCT, French director Jean Vigo's (L'ATALANTE) sophomore film, he follows up his social documentary A PROPOS DE NICE. En route to boarding school, mischievous students Caussat... With ZERO FOR CONDUCT, French director Jean Vigo's (L'ATALANTE) sophomore film, he follows up his social documentary A PROPOS DE NICE. En route to boarding school, mischievous students Caussat (Louis Lefebvre), Colin (Gilbert Pruchon), and Druel (Coco Golstein) joyfully while away their last hours of freedom. Sour teacher Pète-Sec (Robert Le Flon), however, soon quashes all fun by giving a "zero for conduct" grade to the boys for their dormitory escapades. Pète-Sec seems out to get the boys, but they have an ally in new teacher Huguet (Jean Dasté). Huguet is as fun loving as the students, with his Chaplin imitations, and gymnastics during class. The boys continue to rack up more zeros, though, and finally they decide that they are fed up with Sunday punishment so they plot to escape from school. Meanwhile, the headmaster, a Napoleon-style dictator and midget (literally) fears for the success of upcoming Alumni Day with the boys misbehaving. He enlists the help of foppish student Tabart (Gerard de Bedarieux) to infiltrate the boys' cadre, thereby threatening the mini revolution that could occur. Vigo uses avant-garde techniques and satire--the surreal, poetic, pillow fight sequence, dropping dialogue for effect--to support anarchy in the quest to end tyranny. [More]
Starring: Jean Daste, Robert Le Fion
Starring: Jean Daste, Robert Le Fion
Director: Jean Vigo
Director: Jean Vigo
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Reviews for Zero for Conduct
One of the most haunting and influential films ever made about childhood, Vigo's feature protests rigid authority and celebrates anarchic revolution. This personal film influenced two other great works: Truffaut's 400 Blows and Lindsay Anderson's If.
From a modern perspective it seems delightful rather than revolutionary, dangerous and subversive.
Vigo's anarchic, disorienting vision of life in a French boarding school.
Compelling and influential, a fascinating film and essential viewing for film history enthusiasts.
These amorphous scenes, strung together by a vague continuity may be art but they are also pretty chaotic.
One of the greatest films about children ever made and a haunting celebration of anarchic rebellion.
A wholly original creation, the film walks a narrow line between surrealist farce and social realism.
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