Mistons, Les (1957)

Director:

François Truffaut

Writer:

Maurice Pons (short story)

Release Date:

6 November 1958 (France)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Plot:

During the hot summer, 5 kids, "Les Mistons", spy on two lovers. They follow Gerard and Bernadette everywhere...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Kids And Family

Cast

Gérard Blain	...	Gérard
Bernadette Lafont	...	Bernadette Jouve
Michel François	...	Récitant / Narrator (voice)

Also Known As:

The Brats (UK)
The Kids (USA)
The Mischief Makers

Runtime:

18 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Nîmes, Gard, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Trivia:

This short is available on the 2003 Umbrella release of "The 400 Blows".

Movie Connections:

References Arroseur arrosé, L' (1895)

worth seeing if you are a fan of Truffaut

While some on IMDb scored this short film higher, I find it really hard to give it a score one way or the other since Les Mistons is only 17 minutes long. It's sort of an experimental film due to its length and it's about as long as the average 3 Stooges short (this is NOT meant as a criticism--just a statement about the length of the film). What I saw, I really liked. It's a real shame that Trufaut never expanded this movie or created more episodes on "The Brats" ("Mistons" in French)--I could see several vignettes like this going to create a nice film.

I assume if the viewer has no idea who Truffaut is or had no idea it was one of his films wouldn't think too much about it. It's a slight little film. Enjoyable, but not a "must see".