I’d totally fuck Jean-Pierre Léaud for free

Baisers volés

Just like in “Les 400 Coups”, Truffauts begins this film with a shot of the Eiffel Tower before turning towards his protagonist. There also is the Cinemathèque Francaise issue, which I won’t delve on, even though I’d like to. But really, even though Baisers voles is clearly a Nouvelle vague, there are almost no politics in the film except for the explicit dedication to Henri Langlois and a shot of the closed Cinemathèque.

I remember that I have hated “La peau douce” back then when I saw it. I thought it was shallow, the female character stupid and the obsession of the male rather boring. In a similar way, the story of “Le mépris” is somewhat plain but it’s in the execution of the film that its fascination lies. For me, the Doinel series is a little bit like that too. It’s centered around Antoine Doinel who is practically a useless person. He’s egoistic, vain and lazy; there is absolutely nothing likable about him. The fact that I am hopelessly attracted to the actor also does not help. But there is something else in Doinel that makes me strangely forgiving: He keeps failing. There also are some misunderstandings and other minor misfortunes which make his life harder, and it’s hard to figure out why. Most of all, he’s clumsy and doesn’t quite understand his surrounding – that makes him lovely. More than a love story, “Baisers voles” depicts Doinel’s struggle in society, exemplified by the 3 jobs he loses over the course of the story.

Another thing that makes me overlook the seeming shallowness of Nouvelle vague films are their incredible style. Even prostitutes look amazingly stylish and beautiful, how the heck do they do that? (Just like Godard, Truffaut portrays these prostitutes as worthless women though; this is quite comical and enjoyable to watch but also tickles my feminist subconscious a bit.) Every single shot in the film feels like Truffaut spent years composing it, I especially liked the one in which the camera goes up the stairs until it finally lies its eyes upon the sleeping couple.

I also love love love how Doinel, despite his deliquent character, is a romanticist and an avid reader. It fits his image of lovable failure. Ever since I saw it, I knew that “Le lys de la vallée” had to play a role in the film. It’s a story about a writer who falls in love with a married woman, and no I have not read the book. I just happen to be very addicted to Gunslinger Girl. Books seem to be another thing Truffaut and Godard had in common. If you let your protagonists read books, they have to at least seem better than your average Hollywood hero, even if they are not.

Finally, I am a huge fan of the song at the beginning of the film. It totally set me into the mood for it – a lovely, superficial sounding chanson, just like the film itself. After not having seen a Nouvelle Vague for such a long time, I just reminded myself of why I like them so much. Since I have seen “Domicile conjugal”, now it’s time for “L’amour en fuite”.