★ 10 / 10
Jean Vigo is one of the lost geniuses
Matthew B
Jean Vigo is one of the lost geniuses of French cinema. He died prematurely at the age of 29 from tuberculosis leaving behind only three hours of filmed work.…
Jean Vigo is one of the lost geniuses of French cinema. He died prematurely at the age of 29 from tuberculosis leaving behind only three hours of filmed work. These productions were made on a low budget at a time when talking pictures were still in their infancy.
The result of this is that his works are a little ragged. The sound quality in Zero for Conduct is poor, and many of the scenes would have looked much better if he had the money and technology to make something more professional. Then again, the anarchist moviemaker might have preferred a less finished touch to his works.
Still Vigo did the best that he could. If he employed non-professional actors and people he found on the street, this was not an early example of a director straining for neorealism. In fact Zero for Conduct is closer to the surrealism of a Buñuel than the naturalism of a Rossellini or de Sica. No, the amateur cast are the mark of a man working on the cheap.
For this film, Vigo drew on his own experiences of life at boarding school. The authoritarian rules were anathema to Vigo, and he sought to show the pupils rebelling against that. The title refers to a school rule which said that if any pupil got a zero for conduct, he would not be allowed to go out of the school on Sunday. Vigo takes an anarchistic view of the pupils, seeing them as victims of an overbearing establishment against which they rebel.
At the time this short and modest work was highly controversial. It was met with hisses and boos by early audiences, and was criticised by a Catholic journal. Zero for Conduct was thought to be vulgar and scatological. In fact there is only a brief use of a repeated swear word, the mildest hint of nudity, and perhaps a little implied homosexuality.
As a result, Zero for Conduct was banned in France until the end of World War 2. It was thought to be anti-French, and to be advocating indiscipline. It says something about French society before the war that discipline was rated so highly.
Since then the film's stature has grown. François Truffaut was influenced by the film when he made The 400 Blows. Later Lindsay Anderson made If…, another anarchic school film which ends in a similar manner to Zero for Conduct, but taken to greater extremes. Whatever Vigo's contemporaries might have thought, there has been an increasing warmth over time towards the idea of children rebelling against their teachers.
It says something about Vigo's attitude towards boarding school life that he based the personalities of the teachers on those of guards at a juvenile prison that his father attended. Strictly speaking, the teachers are not the worst tyrants that we have ever seen in fiction. The oppression faced by the children is mild enough, but still insidious.
What is wrong with school life, in Vigo's opinion, is the stifling level of conformity, and the suppression of the individual. In line with this rebellious content, Vigo uses a subversive cinematic style. Zero for Conduct is not a surrealist movie as such, but it certainly contains surreal elements.
A mirror reflection moves out of synch with the teacher standing in front of it. A drawing of a teacher turns into an animation, and then transforms into Napoleon. Camera trickery is employed to make a football disappear. A boy and girl engage in a bizarre courting ritual. Many of the visiting VIPs at the end are life-size dummies.
The heart of Vigo's message is one of valuing spontaneity, freedom and fun over discipline, conformity and uniformity. Vigo uses the school as a microcosm for society as a whole, which he sees as a place where a strong minority impose their will over a less powerful majority. When the pupils hoist a flag of revolution, this is perhaps what Vigo would like to see happen in society.
While Zero for Conduct is certainly rough around the edges, it is a bold and imaginative work that was ahead of its time. It is a pity Vigo did not live longer and have more opportunities to work with a bigger budget.
I wrote a longer appreciation of Zero for Conduct on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2022/04/21/zero-for-conduct-1933/
★ 8 / 10
The most apt description I've heard describes this
A R
The most apt description I've heard describes this as a 'hymn to anarchism' - it really is more of a hymn than a story. It's bleak setting is constantly…
The most apt description I've heard describes this as a 'hymn to anarchism' - it really is more of a hymn than a story. It's bleak setting is constantly covered with an air of whimsy and childish jubilance, which ultimately triumphs. Some of the shots are also just beautiful. If you can appreciate film as art, you can love this film. If you're looking for a narrative and clear story, you may want to skip this one.
★ 2 / 10
Comedy has come along way in the past
Leaburn O
Comedy has come along way in the past 90 years. Mercifully short but still a labour to get through. Watched it on YouTube.
Comedy has come along way in the past 90 years. Mercifully short but still a labour to get through. Watched it on YouTube.
94%
TOMATOMETER
· 16 reviews
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AUDIENCE
· 1K ratings
7.2/10
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You did a prophetic job by uploading 2 of 'Jean Vigo's films.