Stolen Kisses (1969)

Why so much hype?

Very well executed

Simply A Masterpiece

good back-story, and good acting

François Truffaut continues the story of Antoine Doinel, the alter ego of Jean-Pierre Léaud, 9 years after the groundbreaking THE 400 BLOWS (1959), the rebellious boy has reached the adolescence, still rebellious though, he is discharged from his military service for being unruly, the comic vibe is established from the very start by the juxtaposition of the dead-serious officer and a laughter-repressed Antoine, who turns out to be a street-smart young man in spite of a tough childhood, and his parents have been completely evacuated out of his life (without any explanation). The first place he visits is a whorehouse, then stops by his girlfriend Christine Darbon (Jade), but is told she is out on a ski vacation by her genial parents (Ceccaldi and Duhamel), but Truffaut slyly implies that there seems to be something else on Christine's agenda now.Antoine finds a job as a night porter in a hotel in Paris, thanks to Christine's father's recommendation, a comely Christine visits him one night, she greets him on the new job and seems casually happy but not so enthusiastic. Soon he is fired for being an unwitting helper of a private detective Henri (Harry-Max), who instead introduces him to the new exciting line of business managed by Monsieur Blady (Falcon). Antoine starts his new vocation with great passion although his stalking skill is a far cry from professional. Truffaut's perspicacious insight of urban savvy is brought to the fore in this segment, mainly surrounding two cases, a subtle love triangle about a (closeted) man looking for his magician lover and a more detailed inside-job, where Antoine is assigned to undercover in a shoe shop owned by Georges Tabard (Lonsdale, a great scene-stealer), who wants the agency to find out why he is so disliked by everyone around him, but the irony is that during Georges' loquacious introduction of his background, the reason behind that is pretty crystal-clear. During the course, Antoine is hopelessly having a crush with Georges' wife Fabienne (Seyrig, enigmatic and fabulously seductive), the apotheosis of a woman's sheer perfection. He is torn between his unquenchable fascination to Fabienne and the on-and-off relationship with Christine, which extracts the most vehement outburst in the mirror scenes where Antoine's unfitting characteristic is pungently reflected, with the iterations of self-persuasion and self-boost, to no avail. Eventually after tasting the temptation, which costs him the second job, he reconciles with Christine in the cutesy chapter where he works as a TV repairman, but the uncertainty of his own feelings becomes more pronounced in the coda, where a stalker makes a wanton confession to Christine in the presence of Antoine, both dismiss at him on the spot, but think twice, it is the capriciousness of love and emotions that will certainly puzzle Antoine, and trigger every viewer, to discover what will happen to him and Christine later, aka. in BED & BOARD (1970), approximately after a two-years spell.STOLEN KISSES is charming in its carefree tempo and disarming in its frankness about whimsical triviality, it is not a major or challenging piece of work from Truffaut, but still scintillates with the profundity of a intelligent life-observer, an obliging humorist and an inspiring filmmaker.

After a stint in the army, Antoine Doinel is released from active duty because of insubordination and ineptitude. The releasing officer does not have kind words for the soon to be civilian young man. As he comes out from the place, he does not take long to find his way to have sex with a prostitute and to reclaim his humble abode in a run down apartment.Antoine is lucky in getting a position at a hotel thanks to the parents of Christine, his on and off girlfriend. It is obvious Antoine is not fit for the position as he bungles a situation where a cheating wife is surprised with her lover in a room where the reception clerk is duped by the older P.I. behind the case. The older detective feels bad for having caused Antoine's the loss of his job and recommends him to apply for a job with his agency.The detective agency proves to be no different from Antoine's previous experiences. His best success in a case is when his superior asks him to infiltrate the shoe store owned by M. Tabard, who feels his employees simply hate him and wants to find out what is he doing wrong. No one is happier to meet Antoine than Fabienne Tabard, the stylish wife of the owner; she sees in Antoine a man she can seduce and who will appreciate her charms. "Stolen Kisses" is a continuation on Francois Truffaut's take on the character that first was examined in his "400 Blows". It is a picaresque comedy because the way Antoine sees the world around him, a society where he does not fit snugly. Mr. Truffaut made a few films around his Antoine Doinel and this one, even 44 years after it was released, still is enjoyable to watch. It is light in tone as the inept young hero of the story goes from one occupation to the next without not knowing where his future will take him. His girlfriend Christine Darbon, is an afterthought in the narrative, although by the end Antoine gets serious about getting more involved, and in a way, settled with the lovely young lady.It would have been inconceivable to think anyone else but Jean-Pierre Leaud, the original Antoine of a few years before, not playing him again. Mr. Leaud had a good working with Mr. Truffaut as they collaborated on different projects together. Best thing in the film is the elegant Delphine Seyrig, playing Fabienne Tabbard, a sophisticated seductress that captures Antoine's vivid imagination. Claude Jade appears as the sweet Christine, the woman Antoine desires. Michael Lonsdale is also perfect as M. Tabard, the shoe store owner. "Stolen Kisses" remains among Francois Truffaut most best comedies, which seen today, evokes a bygone era and the atmosphere of a bygone period in Paris, which was lovingly photographed by Denys Clerval, with a musical score by Antoine Duhanel.

This film followed a showing of "Antoine and Colette" simply did not measure up. Leaud as a bumbling private eye is an interesting conceit, but strikes one as too much of a device. The reality of the character disappears into caricature. The comedy is forced, the romance is forced. Except for the early scenes of his discharge from the Army and a trip to the whorehouse, the movie was uninteresting. Perhaps the private eye genre is one that I have trouble relating to. In "Antoine and Colette", a segment of "Love at Twenty," Leaud worked in a record factory. The humble and inherently unfunny job was a good contrast to his fanciful romantic life. It also played nicely with the theme of two music lovers doing a mating dance. "Stolen Kisses" is more slapsticky, but only goes part of the way to comedy. It's a tepid work.

This is an odd movie--not bad, but rather odd. The main character is a bit of a bumbler that seems to screw up most jobs. He manages to get thrown out of the army, lose the job as a doorman as well as that of a private detective. Along the way, he stops to have sex with a couple prostitutes and the wife of one of his clients while working as the detective. Apart from that, as the film begins his obsessive love for his girlfriend, though she seems a bit cold. Later, their feelings for each other seem to flip-flop. At the end, they both seem to have about equally strong feelings about each other--when a strange man comes out of nowhere for the movie's punchline. Does all this sound like a comedy? Well, while it has some mildly humorous moments, I didn't think it was particularly funny and the story just seemed to be lacking a certain something. I kept waiting for it to get better and to have more of a point, but to no avail.While I really like foreign films, I sometimes am frustrated by the incredibly unfinished style many "great" films possess. While this makes them different from boring and conventional Hollywood fare, sometimes I feel annoyed at what, to me, seems like sloppy writing or the refusal to hire and utilize an editor. I know this all makes me sound like a real nut, but some of Truffaut's movies could use a good editing or re-write--such as this one, Mississippi Mermaid and Confidentially Yours. Others, such as The Wild Child, The Story of Adele H., The Last Metro and Shoot The Pianist, seem much tighter and cohesive.