Antoine and Colette (1962)

Antoine Doinel is 17, lives in a hotel and works in a factory making records; he loves music. He falls in love with a woman he meets at a concert. She sees him as a friend, but her parents love him.

Director:

François Truffaut

Writer:

François Truffaut

Stars:

Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marie-France Pisier, Patrick Auffay

Cast

Credited cast:
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Antoine Doinel
Marie-France Pisier	...	Colette
Patrick Auffay	...	René - best friend
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean-François Adam	...	Albert Tazzi
François Darbon	...	Colette's Stepfather
Pierre Schaeffer	...	Himself
Rosy Varte	...	Colette's Mother

Storyline

This short film is the first segment of five in the multinational feature Love at Twenty (1962), all five segments on the theme of first adult love. After indulging in much delinquency in his youth, seventeen year old Antoine Doinel, having been provided opportunity to get out of that delinquent life, is now an upstanding member of society working for Philips Records, which allows him to indulge in his love of music. At the Youth Concerts, he has noticed the same young woman at several performances, she who he would like to get to know. She is Colette, the two who do begin to date. Colette treats Antoine like a buddy, while Antoine has fallen in love with her. His pursuit of getting Colette to be his exclusive girlfriend is helped on the surface in the fact that Colette's parents like him and encourage their dating. He uses grand romantic gestures to try and prove his love. Will Colette ultimately fall under Antoine's romanticism?

---

Plot Keywords:

character names as title | antoine doinel character | three word title | love | parents | 

---

Genres:

Short | Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

22 June 1962 (France)

Also Known As:

Antoine and Colette

Filming Locations:

Place de Clichy, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Carrosse

Technical Specs

Runtime:

32 min

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Radio Singer: [film begins] La-la-la-la-la, Mornings I wake up singing, At night I dance into bed, Mornings I wake up singing, At night I dance into bed, I never care, About the bombs in the air, That one day'll kill us all dead, Why don't they make peace instead?

---

Connections

Followed by Love on the Run (1979)

User Reviews

Bittersweet Love Story

Antoine and Colette (1962)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

This 30-minute short from Francois Truffaut was originally a part of the anthology film LOVE AT TWENTY but it got its own release since many considered it the stand out entry. It also serves as a sequel to THE 400 BLOWS as Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud) is now out of trouble, living and working and soon he finds himself falling for a woman named Colette (Marie-France Pisier). At first Antoine believes that the two are starting a good relationship but before long it's clear that the woman has a different mind set. I guess the simplest thing to say is that the ladies in France aren't much different than the ones in America when it comes to confusing a young man and breaking his heart. I really thought this was an extremely good film and a worthy follow-up to THE 400 BLOWS, which by many, not myself, think is the director's masterpiece. I really liked how Truffaut didn't just give us the same type of story and instead of the tense drama he treated us to quite a few sweet scenes that have a touch of bittersweetness to them. I think most adults watching this are going to realize what's going on with the "relationship" but the film also takes you back to the days of youth when being naive was just part of the game. Both Leaud and Pisier are excellent together and the two of them really shine in regards to their performances. The cinematography is excellent as you'd expect and there's no doubt that Truffaut handles the material with care.