400 Coups has a very simple but moving plot line. Antoine Doinel, the main character, is a young 12 year old boy living in Paris with his mother and stepfather. No one seems to understand Antoine and he often acts up in school and at home. One day Antoine and his friend skip school and stumble upon his mother and another man kissing on the street. Antoine both embarrassed and enraged rushes away, and from then on despises his mother. In school his ruthless teacher often yells and assigns extra work to him, which just makes him hate school even more. His parents attempt to get him interested, and finally do when his mother bribes him with money. Antoine becomes obsessed with the french writer Balzac. At school he writes an in class essay and completely re copies one of Balzac's essays from memory. The teacher becomes extremely angry and demands Antoine leave the classroom right away. This was the last straw for Antoine, for just days before he faked his mothers death to get out doing school work. Antoine refuses to return home, and with the help of a friend he spends a lot of time away from his parents. To fund his escape he plans to steal and sell his stepfather's typewriter. He is caught in the act of actually returning the typewriter and is turned into the police by his stepfather. He is locked up and transfered to an observatory for troubled youth by the sea at his mothers request. Antoine is interviewed by a therapist there, and the reasons for his unhappiness are unearthed. One day while playing soccer in a nearby field Antoine escapes under the fence. He runs and runs until he finally reaches the sea. There he pauses and gazes into the camera. The film ends with his puzzled face staring straight into the camera.
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