Les Mistons Explained

Les Mistons
Director:François Truffaut
Producer:Robert Lachenay
Based On:Virginales by
Narrator:Michel François
Starring:Gérard Blain
Bernadette Lafont
Music:Maurice Le Roux
Cinematography:Jean Malige
Studio:Les Films du Carrosse
Runtime: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

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

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

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]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Watch Truffaut Become Truffaut in His 1957 Short Film, Les Mistons. Marshall, Colin. openculture.com. 2012-02-27. 2013-06-17.
  2. Web site: Les Mistons [François Truffaut, 1957] and Truffaut's Children']. The Cynephile. 2013-07-17.
  3. Web site: Les Mistons (1957). Dixon, Wheeler Winston. Senses of Cinema. 2013-01-23.
  4. Web site: Les Mistons. Dixon, Wheeler Winston. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 2013-01-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305062334/http://blog.unl.edu/dixon/2011/08/28/les-mistons/. 2016-03-05. dead.
  5. Web site: Truffaut's Last Interview. Brody, Richard. The New Yorker. 2010-08-16. 2013-07-17.
  6. Web site: Review: Les Mistons. newwavefilm.com. 2013-07-17.
  7. Web site: Gérard Blain. telegraph.co.uk. 2000-09-29. 2013-07-20.
  8. Web site: Les Mistons (1957). Nesbit, John. oldschoolreviews.com. 2013-01-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20120726134236/http://oldschoolreviews.com/rev_50/mistons.htm. 2012-07-26. dead.
  9. Web site: The Reflection of Life:Truffaut's Adventures of Antoine Doinel'. Johans, Jens. filmintuition.com. 2013-07-17.
  10. Web site: Review: Les Mistons. unifrance.org. 2013-07-17.
  11. Web site: Talking About the Movies: Remembering the French New Wave. Beaver, Frank. University of Michigan. 2013-07-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131228160958/http://michigantoday.umich.edu/NewsE/04_06/movies.html. 2013-12-28.
  12. Web site: François Truffaut at MoMA. 2013-06-05. 2013-01-23.
  13. Web site: Film Screenings. 2013-01-23.
  14. Web site: Les Mistons. The Film Sufi. 2013-06-17.
  15. Web site: Les Mistons. Ewing, Ben. notcoming.com. 2013-06-17.
  16. Web site: Two Short Films by François Truffaut: Les Mistons / Antoine & Colette. Zimmer, Mark. digitallyobsessed.com. 2002-07-04. 2013-07-17.
  17. Web site: The Adventures of Antoine Doinel (Truffaut Collection) (1959). Appassamy, Vanessa . michaeldvd.com.au. 2007-07-02. 2013-07-17.
  18. Web site: The Adventures of Antoine Doinel. Nguyen, Ed. dvdmoviecentral.com. 2013-07-17.