Stolen Kisses (1969)

Eight years after the wry romantic sketch Antoine and Colette, François Truffaut and Jean-Pierre Léaud reunited to catch up with Truffaut's cinematic alter ego, Antoine Doinel, the troubled adolescent of The 400 Blows. Stolen Kisses opens with the now-grown Doinel sprung from military prison with a dishonorable discharge, drawn directly from Truffaut's own history of delinquency, but the parallels end there. Lovesick Doinel woos the perky but unresponsive object of his affections, Christine (Claude Jade) while he engages in a series of professions--hotel night watchman, private investigator, TV repairman--with mixed success and comic entanglements. But when he falls in love with the elegant wife of his client (Delphine Seyrig at her most beautiful and charming), Christine realizes she misses Antoine's persistence and clumsy passes, so she embarks on a seductive plan of her own. Truffaut's comic confection is full of deadpan gags and screwball chaos, a world away from the heavy seriousness of The 400 Blows, and Léaud is endearingly naive as the determined Doinel, forging ahead with more pluck and passion than aptitude. It may be Truffaut's most sweetly romantic film, a knowing man's embrace of eager innocence and storybook sentiment. Doinel returns two years later in Bed and Board. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

Stolen Kisses

Filmed during the 1968 riots in Paris, François Truffaut's endearing, soufflé-light romantic comedy continues the saga of Antoine Doinel, played by a grown-up Jean-Pierre Leaud, who first appeared in the director's semi-autobiographical classic "The 400 Blows." As the boyishly inept Doinel, Leaud is effortlessly charming, while the radiant Seyrig is marvelous as a smoldering seductress married to a neurotic shoe salesman. Witty, touching, and studded with gorgeous views of the City of Lights, "Stolen Kisses" is one of Truffaut's sweeter confections. June 28, 2007

A charming comedy from Truffaut

This is Truffaut's third movie in his ANTOINE ET COLLETTE series, which began brilliantly with THE 400 BLOWS. It begins with Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud) being dishonorably discharged from the army and eventually getting a job with a detective agency. He's not very good at it, though he tries hard, and on one case, while working as a stockboy in a shoe store, he has an affair with the owner's wife Fabienne, (played by Delphine Seyrig).

In addition to all this, Truffaut explores Antoine's relationship with long-time girlfriend Catherine (Catherine Lutz) - the ambiguities and confusions that go along with young love. The best scenes by far are those between Antoine and Fabienne - they are vibrant and compelling. Too much of the rest, though good, seems inconsistent. Antoine's character is maddening to watch and is perfectly played by Leaud: he can't quite grasp life around him, yet he can shrug it off as if lost in a fog he's unaware of. Truffaut has made better movies than this one, but it's not bad at all. Worth a watch. November 2, 2005

Charming romantic comedy that really is funny

This is a delightful Truffaut movie starring Jean-Pierre Leaud who played Antoine Doinel, the running boy in Truffaut's famous Les Quatre cents coup (1959). He's a young man now just discharged from the army bouncing from one temporary job to another, from being a night watchman to being a TV repairman. He gets into scrapes and gets fired, but presses on (in-between impulsive liaisons with ladies of the evening).

He gets his big chance when he lucks into a job with a private detective agency. After some mishaps he is called upon to take a job (within a job, as it were) at a shoe store to find out why the owner is not liked. There he meets the owner's wife, Fabienne Tabard, played by Delphine Seyrig (Last Year at Marienbad 1961; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 1972, etc.). He is immediately smitten by her. In typical French cinematic fashion it is not clear whether she is a goddess or a maternal figure for the thoroughly bewitched Antoine.

Meanwhile there is Christine Darbon (Claude Jade) who plays Antoine's real love interest. What makes this film so thoroughly agreeable is Truffaut's light-hearted wit and his studious avoidance of cliche in a genre (the romantic comedy) in which cliches abound. The humor is often tongue-in-cheek, and as subtle as a diplomat's compliment. Leaud's charm and his oh so earnest style make him the perfect foil for life's little jokes. Along the way detective agencies are satirized as are its clientele, including a guy who wants his magician boyfriend tailed only to find that he is--horrors!--married, or the aforementioned shoe haberdasher who hires a private eye (not a shrink!) to find out why he is not beloved.

Bottom line: see this for Francois Truffaut, whose keen sense of humanity's foibles and unique style, sometimes playful and sometimes penetrating, have made him one of cinema's greatest directors. May 31, 2004

Stolen Kisses, Wasted Time

The 400 Blows is deservedly one of the best movies of all time. Stolen Kisses, a continuation of the Antoine Doinel character, could possibly qualify as one of the worst (okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but it is bad). Truffaut obviously decided to go for a farcical Antoine, which proved to be a big, big mistake. Antoine is no longer that edgy, rebellious character struggling with the constraints imposed by authority. Remember how he reacted when he got slapped in the face? Very little reaction, which was perfect and believable. In Kisses, you have an Antoine who is more fawning than stoic, more mimicking than reserved. The result is this viewer's disappointment. In addition, the plot is haphazard, breezy, and meaningless. The ending is forgetful, in complete contrast to that of The 400 Blows. Do yourself a favor: instead of wasting your time watching this, watch The 400 Blows again. December 28, 2003

~Lovely and Delightful~

"Stolen Kisses" is also one of those films that I can watch over and over again without getting bored. This film is charming and funny. Jean-Pierre Leaud's exaggerated expressions (his "declaration of love" for Madame Tabat scene and the "Chiquitita banana" scene) certainly contribute to the film's charm. I adore the characters Antoine and Christine very much. The film is very well made; like all Truffaut's films, the music, sceneries, casts, lighting, landscapes, angles etc all fit in like a perfect jigsaw puzzle. I feel that the best scene is the beginning of the movie where Truffaut shoot scenes of moving cars on the street and then slowly moves on to shoot the entrance of a cinema. It is also then the music fills in the background. I agree with one of the reviewers that this film makes good use of Charles Trenet's song "Que Reste-T-Il De Nos Amours". Simply delightful! April 30, 2003

More reviews at Amazon.com ...