Paris in July with Francois Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Léaud and The 400 Blows

Paris, like many older cities, has a seedy, dirty edge to it, a very lived in feel if you will.  You won't have to walk far from Notre Dame and the Ile de la Cite to find it either.  You'll find lots of it in Farnciois Truffaut's debut film The 400 Blows.

Mr. Truffaut was a film critic before he became a filmmaker.  He made The 400 Blows in part to show the world what he thought a good movie should be.  Most critics today, and a very large body of fans, consider it to be a masterpiece.

The story, probably autobiographical, is about a Parisian boy, the trouble he gets into and the way he eventually overcomes it.  The scene below shows him going on an amusement part ride at one of the many small attractions that used to be found in most major European cities.  

The young actor is Jean-Pierre Leaud who would continue to work with Mr. Truffaut in many other films.