Zero
de Conduite
(Jean
Vigo, 1933)
This
title, that was banned in the UK until the 1970's, follows the lives
of pupils at an all boys school who see their place of education as a
dull, prison-like place. In this strict and regimented environment,
the boys find several ways of rebelling against the school, along
with the encouragement of new teacher, Huguet.
From
the outset we witness the boys as rebellious, smoking cigars in the
non-smoking carriage of the train in between showing each other their
pranks and jokes. The dormitory of the school is a long, sterile
room, resembling that of a hospital ward, with one curtain-enclosed
area, in which a teacher sleeps. The narrow room is lined on each
side, with a row of metal beds. In another classic act of rebellion,
we witness the boys collected together, smoking in the toilets.
The
teacher, Huguet, displays a similar view to the regimented
environment and so acts, on numerous occasions, in a less than
exemplary way. He steals possessions from the children whilst they
are at break and then conducts his lessons through a visual chaos, in
which the boys are scattered around the classroom. Some boys at
desks, others on the desks, and others on shelves! The teacher is
powerless amongst these boys, who display behaviour similar to that
of wild animals. He also tries to outdo the boys' attempts at
impressing each other by performing a handstand in the classroom,
only with the use of clever filming, it appears he is stood on one
hand, whilst using the other to draw! In another performance of
editing “trickery”, one boy shows another a trick in which a ball
disappears from his hand.
In
a visual comparison to their lives at school, the kids home lives are
dull and the impression is created that they'd rather be causing
chaos, as they spend their time plotting revenge against the school's
principal.
As
well as this film being an obvious example of rebellion against a
wider culture, an idea that was not to be be promoted at it's time of
release (considering that this was the year the Nazis came to power),
it also features the issue of homosexuality, by featuring an
over-friendly relationship between two boys, one who appears to be
very feminine, as he is favoured by another teacher who strokes the
boys hair and tends to treat him very much like a girl. Again,
homosexuality was outlawed in the UK until 1967, so this film
succeeded in causing wide offence!
In
a timeless scene, in which Vigo really plays with imagery, slow
motion is used more effectively, I think, than almost any other film
to date. We see a boy back-flip onto a chair, amongst the rest of the
boys gathering in the dormitory, proceeding ahead like soldiers to
war. Slow motion intensifies the determined efforts of these boys,
about to fight their “dictators”, as they walk into a headwind of
pillow feathers, holding their hand-made weapons proud. The scene is
quasi-religious too, as the crowd carries a boy above their heads, on
a chair. Also, they tie their sleeping teacher to his bed, displaying
him upright, in a position that resembles Christ on the cross.
In
the final scene, and in the boys' final push for freedom, they manage
to escape by bunny hopping across the roof tops of Paris, only after
causing more chaos and embarrassment to those trying to conduct
order. Huguet, predictably the whole time, laughing along with the
boys' antics! At no point in this film do you have any doubt that the
audience are meant to be on any side but the boys', it suggests no
respect towards order and heavy ruling, whilst remaining whimsical in
a time when the world was still dealing with the effects of the 1931
depression.
