Zéro De Conduite

''Zero for Conduct'' () is a 1933 French featurette directed by Jean Vigo. It was first shown on 7 April 1933 and was subsequently banned in France until November 1945.

The film draws extensively on Vigo's boarding school experiences to depict a repressive and bureaucratised educational establishment in which surreal acts of rebellion occur, reflecting Vigo's anarchist view of childhood. The title refers to a mark the boys would get which prevented them from going out on Sundays.

Though the film was not an immediate success with audiences, it has proven to be enduringly influential. François Truffaut paid homage to ''Zero for Conduct'' in his film ''The 400 Blows'' (1959). The anarchic classroom and recess scenes in Truffaut's film borrow from Vigo's film, as does a classic scene in which a mischievous group of schoolboys are led through the streets by one of their schoolmasters. Director Lindsay Anderson has acknowledged that his own film '' if....'' was inspired by ''Zero for Conduct''.

Plot

Four rebellious young boys at a repressive French boarding school plot and execute a revolt against their teachers and take over the school. The film opens by showing the joyful, carefree nature of childhood as two boys (Caussat and Colin) returning to boarding school on the train enjoy playing pranks on each other and their fellow travelers. Back on campus, they are reprimanded by the school teachers and staff who inflict severe punishments on them and deprive them of their freedom and creativity. Three of the youngest of the protagonists: Caussaut (the leader), Colin (the cook’s son), and Bruel are singled out and form a bond of friendship over their shared defiance of the school’s strict rules and absurd punishments.

As the school term progresses, the boys engage in various pranks and acts of rebellion, including disrupting classes and mocking their overseers.  They are encouraged, however by the support of a new class supervisor, Huguet, who is closer to the age and mentality of the young students and sympathizes with them, taking them out into the town for some fun. Adept at imitating Charlie Chaplin, Huguet shows himself capable of doing a handstand on a desk in the middle of the enthusiastic boys. Another class supervisor, quite different from Huguet, puts an end to this chaotic fun and punishes the boys with another zero for conduct, meaning they will not be permitted to leave the school on Sundays. The boys determine to plot a rebellion at the recently announced celebration to honor important alumni and visitors. Emboldened by their plans for revolution, the boys stage a food fight at the cafeteria in protest of the bad food. Unwanted attention from the science teacher provokes Tabard, a very young protagonist with delicate and effeminate features, to talk back rudely.

In the dormitory, the boys begin their revolt by raising their skull and crossbones flag, tying up the supervising teacher snoozing in his bed, instigating a pillow fight, and marching around in their nightshirts. The action reaches its peak on the day of the school festival. The four boys implement their plan to revolt, during which the celebration’s decorations and exhibitions are destroyed and the guests scattered as tin cans and other garbage is thrown down at them. The four boys triumphantly mount the rooftops, marching towards the serene skies that guarantee their newfound freedom.

Cast

* Gérard de Bédarieux – Tabard
* Louis Lefebvre – Caussat
* Gilbert Pruchon – Colin
* Coco Golstein – Bruel
* Jean Dasté – Surveillant Huguet
* Robert le Flon – Surveillant Pète-Sec
* Du Verron – Surveillant-Général Bec-de-Gaz (as du Verron)
* Delphin – Principal du Collège
* Léon Larive – Professeur (as Larive)
* Madame Émile – Mère Haricot (as Mme. Emile)
* Louis de Gonzague – Préfet (as Louis de Gonzague-Frick)
* Raphaël Diligent – Pompier (as Rafa Diligent)

Production

In late 1932, Vigo and his wife Lydou Vigo were both in poor health and Vigo was at a low point in his career. He then met and befriended Jacques-Louis Nounez, a rich businessman who was interested in making films. Vigo discussed the idea of a film about his childhood experiences at a Millau boarding school and Nounez agreed to finance it.

''Zero for Conduct'' was shot from December 1932 until January 1933 with a budget of 200,000 francs. Vigo used mostly non-professional actors and sometimes people that he found on the street. The four main characters are all based on real people that Vigo had known in his youth. Caussat and Bruel were based on friends from Millau, Colin was based on a friend he had known in Chartes and Tabard was based on Vigo himself. The teachers depicted in the film were based on the guards at ''La Petite Roquette'' juvenile prison where Vigo's father Miguel Almereyda had once been an inmate. The film's soundtrack was of poor quality due to budgetary constraints but Vigo's use of poetic, rhythmic dialogue has been said to make it much easier to understand what characters are saying. At one point in the film, Tabard tells his teachers "shit on you!", which was once a famous headline in a French newspaper that Vigo's father had directed at all world governments. Vigo's poor health became worse during the film's production but he was able to complete the editing.

Reception

The film was first screened on April 7, 1933, in Paris. The premiere shocked many audience members who hissed and booed Vigo. Other audience members, most notably Jacques Prevert, loudly clapped.

French film critics were strongly divided about the film. Some called it "simply ridiculous" and compared it to "lavatory flushing" while others praised its "fiery daring" and called Vigo "the Céline

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