Les Mistons
Les Mistons | |
---|---|
Directed by | François Truffaut |
Written by | François Truffaut |
Based on | Virginales by Maurice Pons |
Produced by | Robert Lachenay |
Starring | Gérard Blain Bernadette Lafont Michel François |
Narrated by | Michel François |
Cinematography | Jean Malige |
Edited by | Cécile Decugis |
Music by | Maurice Le Roux |
Production company | Les Films du Carrosse |
Release date |
|
Running time | 26 minutes 17 minutes (Truffaut's re-cut version) |
Language | French |
Les Mistons (The Mischief Makers) is a French short film written and directed by François Truffaut in 1957.[1][2] It was his second film after Une Visite in 1955 but it is considered his "first short film of any real consequence".[3][4] Truffaut simply called it "my first real film".[5] Moreover, it was Bernadette Lafont's film debut.[6] She was at that time Gérard Blain's wife.[5][7] The film demonstrates already some examples for Truffaut's "trademark tracking shots" and would "help define his style" as well as "set Truffaut on a path for his career".[8][9] Truffaut's narrative stresses the details of life, hereby establishing one of the traits of the French New Wave. Thus he also became a predecessor of French film directors such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie).[10] It has been stated that the formation of the French New Wave could be "tracked through two short films": Jean-Luc Godard's All the Boys Are Called Patrick and Truffaut's Les Mistons.[11] In 2013 the Museum of Modern Art in New York City screened this film together with Truffaut's The 400 Blows.[12][13]
Plot
[edit]The story takes place in Provencal France, where a group of young boys ("mistons" roughly translates "brats") are infatuated with a beautiful young woman. Jealous of her passionate affair, they conspire to make mischief for the woman and her boyfriend.
Production
[edit]The film was shot on location in Bernadette Lafont's hometown Nîmes in Southern France.[6][14] It sports the town's Roman arena.[10] It was shot on 35mm film without live sound.[15]
DVD release
[edit]In 1999 the film was released on a DVD which also contained Antoine and Colette.[8][16] In 2007 Les Mistons was again released, this time as a part of a DVD collection. The extras included an introduction by film historian Serge Toubiana and an audio commentary by Truffaut's assistant, Claude de Givray.[17][18]
References
[edit]- ^ Marshall, Colin (2012-02-27). "Watch Truffaut Become Truffaut in His 1957 Short Film, Les Mistons". openculture.com. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
- ^ "Les Mistons [François Truffaut, 1957] and Truffaut's Children'". The Cynephile. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ^ Dixon, Wheeler Winston. "Les Mistons (1957)". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ Dixon, Wheeler Winston. "Les Mistons". University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ a b Brody, Richard (2010-08-16). "Truffaut's Last Interview". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ^ a b "Review: Les Mistons". newwavefilm.com. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ^ "Gérard Blain". telegraph.co.uk. 2000-09-29. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
- ^ a b Nesbit, John. "Les Mistons (1957)". oldschoolreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ Johans, Jens. "The Reflection of Life:Truffaut's Adventures of Antoine Doinel'". filmintuition.com. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ^ a b "Review: Les Mistons". unifrance.org. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ^ Beaver, Frank. "Talking About the Movies: Remembering the French New Wave". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ^ "François Truffaut at MoMA". 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ "Film Screenings". Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^ "Les Mistons". The Film Sufi. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
- ^ Ewing, Ben. "Les Mistons". notcoming.com. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
- ^ Zimmer, Mark (2002-07-04). "Two Short Films by François Truffaut: Les Mistons / Antoine & Colette". digitallyobsessed.com. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ^ Appassamy, Vanessa (2007-07-02). "The Adventures of Antoine Doinel (Truffaut Collection) (1959)". michaeldvd.com.au. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ^ Nguyen, Ed. "The Adventures of Antoine Doinel". dvdmoviecentral.com. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
External links
[edit]- Les Mistons at IMDb
- Les Mistons at AllMovie
- The Mischief Makers at Rotten Tomatoes
- https://archive.org/details/les-mistons-1957 Complete movie at archive.org