Summary
The summer holidays over, a troupe of schoolboys return to their much-loathed boarding
school. Although they find a sympathetic friend in the new athletics teacher, who
amuses them with his Chaplin impressions, the children are ill-treated and unhappy.
They are tyrannised by the school’s prim dwarfish principal and forced to live on a diet
of green beans. In the end they have no choice but to rebel...
Review
The film, based on Vigo’s own unhappy school day experiences, was only Vigo’s third film
and his first fictional work. Of his four films, it is probably the one which is
perhaps the most honest reflection of the man himself and shows how tragically ahead of
his time he was – tragically because the world was no yet ready for his radical approach
to cinema and he died decades before he his work was finally recognised. Vigo's
anarchist background and outspoken views are vividly represented (Vigo's own father was
a notorious anarchist who died in jail when Vigo was aged 12).
There are so many magic moments in this film, too many to enumerate. The pint-sized
principal is deliciously tyrannical, the very essence of authoritarian self-importance.
In fact all of the adults in this film are presented as outrageously exaggerated caricatures,
just as the schoolchildren might see them. This is very much a child’s view of the
school system as they see it. So, it is with the brutalised and rebellious children
that we are compelled to sympathise with, just as we are invited to revile and laugh at
the grown-ups.
The greatest moment in the film is the unforgettable dormitory fight. Feathers raining
down like confetti, the scene of anarchy melts into a stately dream-like procession.
Vigo seems to be saying that peace and enlightenment can be attained only by brutally
tearing down the old order. In doing so, he is unwittingly giving a cue to the French
film directors of the New Wave to do precisely that with French cinema. It cannot
be denied that Vigo had a tremendous influence on the New Wave and French cinema in general.
(Truffaut’s Les quatre cents coups lends so much to Zéro de conduite
that it might almost be considered a remake of that film – in style if not in content.)
Although most of the cast were amateur actors (Vigo could only afford to hire four profession
actors), the film benefits from some credible acting performances. Whether it was
because of Vigo’s direction, or Boris Kaufman’s photography, or because the actors were
genuinely talented, some of the scenes in this film are acutely moving. Even when
they finally resort to anarchy, the schoolboys are always presented in a positive light
and they never for one moment lose our affection. By contrast, the adults running
the school appear progressively more hideous as the film progresses.
We should also not forget the contribution made by Maurice Jaubert, who provided one of
his most memorable scores for this film. For the aforementioned procession in the
dormitory, he provided music which was played backwards, from a score written in reverse.
The result is a haunting unreal air which has a perfect synthesis with the eerie slowed-down
pictures we are watching.
Needless to say, Vigo’s film of rebellion in a boarding school was too much for the authorities
at the time. After its first showing in 1933 there was an immediate outcry and fears
that it might result in civil unrest caused the film to be banned. The ban
remained in force until 1945, after which Zéro de conduite finally received
the appraisal and status it merited. It is now regarded as one of the most significant
films in the history of cinema.
© James Travers 2000
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