Zero for Conduct (1933)
3.8 of 5 from 51 ratings
0h 47min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Bruel (Constantin Goldstein-Kehler), Caussat (Louis Lefebvre) and Colin (Gilbert Pruchon) are three students at a boarding school. There is a continual battle between the school's authority figures and students. The teachers and monitors are always giving the three in particular "zero for conduct" and Sunday detention for their behavior. Conversely, most of the students believe the headmaster, teachers and monitors are a combination of authoritarian, inept, and/or corrupt. The one exception among the teachers is Huguet, newly arrived to the school, he who has a penchant for imitating Charles Chaplin as the Little Tramp, and to do handstands whenever the mood suits him, which includes in class. The boys are always doing whatever it takes to amuse themselves, which if it causes the teachers grief, so much the better. The three are the masterminds of a plot to overtake the school's Commemoration Day celebrations. The one student not involved is Tabard, who is seen as a sissy among the student body. Bruel believes Tabard (Gérard de Bédarieux) should be involved. - Actors:
- Jean Dasté, Robert le Flon, Louis Lefebvre, Du Verron, Delphin, Léon Larive, Madame Émile, Louis de Gonzague, Raphaël Diligent, Gilbert Pruchon, Constantin Goldstein-Kehler, Gérard de Bédarieux
- Directors:
- Jean Vigo
- Producers:
- Jean Vigo
- Writers:
- Jean Vigo
- Aka:
- Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège / Zero de Conduite
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Drama
- Collections:
- A Brief History of French Poetic Realism, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Jean Renoir
- Countries:
- France
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Reviews (1) of Zero for Conduct
Feathers, Fists and Freedom - Zero for Conduct review by griggs
Watching this just a day after If…. makes for a fascinating double bill. Both films take aim at the petty tyrannies of school life, but Jean Vigo’s Zero for Conduct does it with an anarchic joy that feels decades ahead of its time. Where Lindsay Anderson built slow fury, Vigo goes straight for playful rebellion, mixing slapstick with surrealism in a way that makes even its rough edges sparkle.
At barely forty minutes, it’s less a story than a series of set-pieces: dorm-room insurrections, grotesque authority figures, and finally that glorious pillow-fight parade, feathers drifting like snow in a dream. The energy feels raw, improvised, alive—almost punk before punk.
What’s striking is how humane it all is. Vigo isn’t just mocking teachers; he’s siding with children, seeing rebellion as not just justified but joyous. Zero for Conduct isn’t polished, but its spirit is untamed, and that’s what keeps it vital.
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