The Crest Finally Hit Me

LET it be noted without contention that the crest of the flow of recent films from the "new wave" of young French directors hit these shores yesterday with the arrival at the Fine Arts Theatre of "The 400 Blows" ("Les Quatre Cents Coups") of Françcois Truffaut.

Bosley Crowther, November 17, 1959, The New York Times

With tax payers money hard at work, I borrowed the DVD from the library and talked myself into watching it. The crest of the "new wave" finally reached my basement, and hit me in full force, 49 years after its debut. This is not some overtly intellectual film reserved for the film critics and cultural elites. I found it enjoyable and satisfying; it has certain ferocity, unadorned earnestness and poignancy that I appreciate and find lacking in contemporary cinema.