Zéro de Conduite
I don’t think anybody I know watches Vigo’s movies. He only made three films really, one of which is a documentary I haven’t seen. The last film is “L’Atalante”, a movie which I thought was beautiful and enjoyable, yet totally overrated. I am a little scared of these critic favorites sometimes, and Vigo’s movies are perfect examples of that.
“Zéro de Conduite” would probably have been much better if it wasn’t so damn highly rated as well. When critics write about it, they have a strong tendency to use the term ‘magic’, and if magic is supposed to explain these movies, then I am not surprised why Gorp or Shii have never touched them before. There is nothing really remarkable about these films, apart from their pleasant 30s French style.
In many aspects, I think that “Zéro de Conduite” is at least as beautiful as “L’Atalante”. Ironically, I recognize Truffaut’s 400 Coups in this, and the immensely amusing and ridiculous adults in the film especially make me think of “Amarcord”. Comedies on boys in boarding schools should have become a genre of their own, but of course now it is too late since this extreme form of education has long disappeared from the world. But the education system today, especially the French one, still has traces of this tradition, and I have a faiblesse for these stories. It is quite refreshing to watch this film and its mischievous children.
I also like how Vigo made his movies on the cheap (another of my weaknesses) because his movies do not look cheap. The black and white still looks elegant, and his cinematography is rough but top-notch. His camera angles are perfect, and one must give him credit for that.
Apart from that, these are 44 minutes well-spent. It is an incredible playful film and I don’t think I have seen anything like this, but the slightly confusing plotline makes it hard for you to relate to any of the characters. As a result, I have always felt like I am watching the film like a circus spectacle, albeit a nice one.