Have you ever snoozed through a cinematic masterpiece? It's a guilty confession Katy & Natey share as they unwrap their thoughts on the French classic 'The 400 Blows.' Their latest podcast takes you along on a not-so-conventional review as they grapple with the nuances of a film that's stood the test of time—albeit through a yawn or two. They tackle the challenges of language barriers and cultural translations head-on, questioning whether these have contributed to their disconnection from a film that has otherwise influenced icons like Wes Anderson. It's a discussion that's as much about the film's artistic merit as it is about their own modern-day viewing habits and expectations.
As the curtains draw on this episode, they're not just bidding adieu with a 'French Farewell,' but with an open invitation. Natey & Katy are eager to hear your cinematic suggestions and stories, encouraging you to reach out via social media or email with your thoughts on 'The 400 Blows' or any other films you'd like them to explore. Leave them a review and join the conversation—you're an integral part of their movie-loving community. Here's to the shared love of films, the discussions they spark, and the memories they create. Thank you for sharing this journey! Here's to hoping your day is as enriching as the movies Natey & Katy delve into together.
Have you ever snoozed through a cinematic masterpiece? It's a guilty confession Katy & Natey share as they unwrap their thoughts on the French classic 'The 400 Blows.' Their latest podcast takes you along on a not-so-conventional review as they grapple with the nuances of a film that's stood the test of time—albeit through a yawn or two. They tackle the challenges of language barriers and cultural translations head-on, questioning whether these have contributed to their disconnection from a film that has otherwise influenced icons like Wes Anderson. It's a discussion that's as much about the film's artistic merit as it is about their own modern-day viewing habits and expectations.
As the curtains draw on this episode, they're not just bidding adieu with a 'French Farewell,' but with an open invitation. Natey & Katy are eager to hear your cinematic suggestions and stories, encouraging you to reach out via social media or email with your thoughts on 'The 400 Blows' or any other films you'd like them to explore. Leave them a review and join the conversation—you're an integral part of their movie-loving community. Here's to the shared love of films, the discussions they spark, and the memories they create. Thank you for sharing this journey! Here's to hoping your day is as enriching as the movies Natey & Katy delve into together.
One's a movie buff, one watches movies, just enough. Together. Fun will be had by all. This is Made in Cady at the Movies.
Speaker 2:Hello, my friend, welcome to a brand new episode of Nete and Cady at the Movies. I am Nete-Anne and Nete, of course, and with me, as always, is my good friend Cady. Bonjour, cady. The movie that we watched was a French movie called the 400 Blues, which has nothing to do with boxing.
Speaker 3:I waited the whole movie to understand what 400 blows means.
Speaker 2:But we'll get there and it never happened. Nothing ever happened that justified the title of the movie.
Speaker 2:But before we get, into any more of what we thought of this French classic that came out in 1959. I think I gotta go over the very short synopsis. The 400 Blues is about the young boy left without attention and he delves into a laugh of petty crime. Hopefully you can understand me. I was doing my best. Inspector Clousseau from the Pink Panther movies, which we should watch those Anyway. This movie stars Jean-Pierre Lude, albert Remé, claire Marriere and Guy De Cambele. Guy De Cambele plays the teacher in the film. I don't know why I mentioned him specifically. Nothing to do with anything. So let's just dive into what we thought of this movie. I will start.
Speaker 3:Preferably within America.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm going to start and just be totally honest I fell asleep watching this movie.
Speaker 3:Okay, pause, have you on this whole journey. I don't remember when was the last time you fell asleep watching a movie. That's pretty bad.
Speaker 2:I've fallen asleep watching things before, not things we've talked about on our list, but I mean, this isn't the first time I've tried to watch something and I've fallen asleep, but I just couldn't get into it. And I don't know if it's because of the French and having to read the subtitles, but I've watched things and read subtitles before, like the best picture nominee. Anatomy of a fall is Sometimes French, like they speak French in the movie, so I know I can handle it. What did you think of this movie? I mean, did you fall asleep? Did you stay up for the whole thing?
Speaker 3:I Did also kind of fall sleep. I did. I watched the whole thing. I just was falling asleep. But, to be fair to myself, it was like 1 am when I finished. So but yes, it is a French film. So the whole thing is, you know, you're having to read the words at the bottom unless you speak French. And, and, by the way, you are able to watch this on the HBO Max but also on YouTube. So I watched it on YouTube Because of the subtitles. I thought I'd be able to watch it faster. You know I always like to do 1.25 speed because of having to read and kind of watch at the same time. It was definitely. I mean, maybe that's part of it is it's exhausting for your brain to be having to watch but also read the movie. But I do want to go back to.
Speaker 3:You said the 400 blows. So again, on the whole movie, I'm waiting for how 400 blows is going to tie into this movie and I did research. The problem is, of course, in the translation. So the 400 blows is how it's literally translated in English. But the French phrasing, which I think I wrote down, it's like I can't say it's fearless or Trace sense, coup, anyway what it. It means in French, although it translates to 400 blows, is actually more of like a saying like to live a wildlife. So if you were apparently and this is what I was reading Apparently they tried to make it more of like a meaning translation like to live a wildlife. But then the US publishers are put us people like no, you have to make it literal. So if you had named it to live a wildlife, feel like that would have made more sense and goes along with the plot. So we'll give them some credit.
Speaker 3:I think there's a disconnect there. But I'll tell you what. Nathan the movie. I Was doing research and it blows my mind. This is a just like classic film. I found a Few articles talking about how this is the favorite movie of Wes Anderson, steven Spielberg, nichols Cage, woody Allen. It's like change people's lives. These this is something that people just laud as being a huge, huge part of the history of film. So I kind of wasn't sure. Maybe you, with your acting background, had heard of it, but maybe film is quite different than theater.
Speaker 2:I had never heard of this movie and the directors and people you just listed are weird, so it makes sense that they like this movie.
Speaker 2:I mean Wes Anderson movies are very distinct style, very weird, and so I don't really trust his opinion on movies because majority of his movies you know even though Jetson, if he's listening to this episode, will hate me, but he knows that majority of Wes Anderson movies I don't like- I think the other big piece of this was why it was so popular was because it's something that's lost on us in 2024.
Speaker 3:We're only seeing the post 400 blows film era, whereas I guess why it's so influential was it Changed how film happened like it was a? It was amazing at the time. It was very cutting edge the way that it's filmed. I mean I will say I did like it. It was very beautiful. I appreciated some of the moving scenes, like the very end. He's just running for like two minutes straight, but it's like following him running. I thought it was very beautiful. I liked watching it in black and white. You know I don't watch much in black and white. Of course I love Lucy was in black and white, but I think it was also beautiful because this is sort of an autobiography of the director and so maybe that was another big piece is anyone who is in film probably could identify with the movie because they're like hey, this is, this is my life, I'm a. I was a troubled kid but then I always found myself and found meaning in the cinema.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess, okay, no, but here's the thing. To your point, all of this is stuff I researched after the movie, right? So if I had not done any research and just asked you, babe, did I like this movie? I'm like no, and I have no idea why it's popular To give some some positives, though I thought the kid was incredible. So that main actor is playing basically like a middle school or I don't think you get the exact age, but wow, I mean he's carrying the show, it's about him, and I thought he was incredible, like his facial acting, his attitude, like. And again, maybe this is why I didn't find it acting I worked with middle schoolers for so long, and then middle school ministry, that he played the part exact. So again, maybe my mind was almost it was so good that I wasn't thinking I was like, yep, middle school boy, like it's exactly what they're like.
Speaker 2:But the acting was well done for a movie that I didn't understand where they were saying, even though I could read it on the bottom of the screen. I thought the acting was good. I thought they portrayed the father as like he was sort of loving but at the same time he was still neglectful and the mom was just outright neglectful and there was no support. Obviously it's about a kid who has no support system at home, no support system at school. He has some friends but they don't really like or they're not like the good kind of friends, that kind of egg him on to do bad things and stuff. So I understand what the movie was doing. It was like a coming of age movie and I understand. I understand all of that and I can understand. Yes, it was beautifully shot, it did look nice in black and white, and so I get all that too. But at the same time I fell asleep during it. So that says a lot to me.
Speaker 3:It's also different in if you identified it with it. So I think this would also be more powerful if and I'm just assuming, based on our friendship, what I know about your childhood you weren't like a huge troublemaker, rebel that like got in trouble all the time at school and sent the principal's office. I was quite I'm quite a rule follower. I'm the opposite of this kid, right Like I'm the one that, if you remember, he's like tattling. He like tattletales on the kid a few times and they get picked on. I would be more of the tattletale.
Speaker 3:So I think that's another piece is you have a whole giant group of people in society that align a little more with him and maybe that the traditional school and traditional childhood doesn't fit. So I do like kind of the story it's telling. It's like okay, this guy is troubled but he's also adventurous, Like he wants to learn more, he's curious, he goes exploring all the time, Like he's a curious mind and it almost shows you that if he could be harnessed correctly, there is a brilliance, there's not just a bad kid out there. And I will say I hear that a lot as a teacher Like I could see him as being one of those kids that if you got him in the right sport or got him in the right activity he would have flourished, but unfortunately, like you said, like fitting in normal society he was just. It ends up in like he goes to straight up, just juvenile, Like he steals a typewriter and goes straight up to jail for kids.
Speaker 2:I think I fell asleep during that part, but I did watch the trailer and I noticed that, yes, he does steal a typewriter. But I probably fell asleep when that actually happened in the movie, cause I think I woke up and he was at the like. It was literally the end of the movie.
Speaker 3:It's like running, running, running, running. He gets to the ju-.
Speaker 3:Well, he was at the juvenile place, I guess, playing soccer, and then he escapes, and then that's the end of it and I liked that it ends on like a cliffhanger, in a way of like is he going to get in cause? The whole movie is just a series of you thinking that he's going to turn his life around and it's going to be okay. And then he does something else bonehead move but it ends with like I don't know, maybe he'll get caught and be in trouble again or he'll be on the next adventure.
Speaker 2:Or maybe he'll become a boxer and finally deliver those 400 blows. But anyway was there any dislikes was there any dislikes for you? You named a lot of likes and I don't really have that many likes.
Speaker 3:Well, again, admittedly, my likes are post-watching, like my likes are post-research, having someone help me analyze the movie, understanding it. Now I appreciate it more for what it is, but me, as the one between the two of us who's usually just straight up entertainment or non-entertainment, I was not entertained, not really, and it was depressing, like I think it's a beautiful part of film, it's just not what I like. It goes back to what we talked about with Southland. I don't really like realism in my movies. I live real life. I go to the movies for an escape. So watching a kid be neglected, being misunderstood at school, getting in trouble and like not living up to his potential, am I supposed to be inspired? Am I supposed to like? I don't understand what message I maybe personally would get out of this.
Speaker 2:Then you're gonna love what we're gonna watch next. But before we get to that, let's go ahead and rate this thing. I think we've already told our thoughts about what we thought about the 400 blows, or to live a crazy life is the French would like to call it. So sorry to all the French listeners, because I'm pretty sure, according to our podcast thing that we use, there are some French people who listen, so I apologize in advance. So let us rate the 400 blows. Katie, what would you give this movie?
Speaker 3:one to six stars, one from one to 400. I'm just kidding. Well, it was definitely just purely because of the impact it's made on movies that I do like, right, I like Spielberg, I like Nick Cage, I like Wes Anderson. So if they influenced how these guys make movies, I have to give it some credit. But I wouldn't necessarily watch it again, so we're gonna give it a three.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna give the 400 blows a very, very not good score of a 1.5 out of six stars because I fell asleep during it. That's like the biggest, my biggest reason. If I fall asleep during a movie, it's not getting a high score, it's just not doing it. So that my friends is, the 400 blows are to live a crazy life or a wild life. So we're moving on to something else that Katie probably don't like, but she really hates realism and we're gonna be watching the mini series Generation Kill, which takes place during the beginning of the Iraq war. Good times.
Speaker 3:You've got to be kidding me.
Speaker 2:Hey, again, like I said last episode, this is what happens when you don't do what you say you're gonna do, and that is look through the list, find the ones you think you're gonna wanna watch, and that's what we go by. Sorry, this is my list now. So Generation Kill can be found on the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, now called Max. It is only seven episodes cause it is a mini series, and so, yeah, that's what we're watching next. I actually can't wait to watch what we're going to watch at the end of this month, because it is a classic, but I'm not gonna tell you what it is. If you're following us on our social media platforms, you should already know what we're gonna watch at the end of this month. And if you wanna be nice, it would be really awesome that, if you're listening to this episode right now, right after it ends, go ahead and share it on your own personal social media accounts.
Speaker 3:Oh, that would be so nice. That would be so nice.
Speaker 2:We love that If you want people to listen to us talk about our opinions of movies. We really do. It would be a lot.
Speaker 3:It really is. And if you give me a chance to end the episode with a quote, I'm gonna try my best French Au revoir mi amoris, Au revoir.
Speaker 2:Would you just call me?
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to Nadie and Katie at the Movies. Feel free to leave us a review so people can find the show. Follow us on all our social media platforms and if there's a movie that you want us to watch, feel free to contact us at nadienkateyatgmailcom. Thanks for listening and have a great day.