Reponse VIII- Shoot the Piano Player

After seeing Truffaut's first feature film "400 Blows," audiences were expecting something just as spectacular with his second film "Shoot the Piano Player." Unfortunately they were not impressed. "Shoot the Piano Player" was probably the worst received by critics and audiences of all Truffaut's work. I must admit that "400 Blows" is a fine piece of cinematic art; but for me, it is not the best film I have seen among those in the French New Wave. I believe that "Shoot the Piano Player" is some of Truffaut's finest work, one of the best films of the French New Wave and is probably even better than "400 Blows." I certainly enjoyed "Shoot the Piano Player" more than "400 Blows."

In a way, I can see why audiences would not have liked this film. Truffaut most likely modelled "Shoot the Piano Player" after the American gangster film. He gave his own twist to this genre and produced a film that was not focused well in regards to genre. Eopinions.com says that this film is not funny enough to be a comedy and not suspenseful enough to be a good gangster film. In my opinion, this lack of affinity to a particular genre is beauty of this film and what makes it an original cinematic piece. On many occasions this film made me laugh until it hurt, such as when the kidnappers engage Charles and Lena in a conversation about women and when one of the kidnappers says "May my mother drop dead if this is not true" and the next shot is of an old woman bending over to her death.

I believe that what determines whether one likes this film or not is dependent on how they view the film. The problem most people had is they were probably viewing it like a gangster film. Audiences failed to notice that "Shoot the Piano Player" had some parodic qualities. Gangster films are usually not meant to be funny but I laughed on many occasions during the screening of this film. If audiences understand that this film is somewhat of a parody, I'm sure that they will like it a whole lot more.

Another reason why I liked this film so much is because I learned a some valuable lessons from it. I learned to embrace the person I am and to contemplate less and follow my instincts. This whole film is about a washed up classical pianist who feels guilty for the death of his wife and chooses to hide the person that he is by changing his name and playing the piano at a local pub. As a result of his poor sense of self he contemplates too much and misses opportunities. A fine example of this is when he walks Lena home and constantly asks himself if he should walk her the rest of the way or not. By the time he makes a decision, Lena is gone. In a certain sense, I can relate to Charles. By watching him on screen I could see how I act sometimes. I believe that like him, I contemplate too much and second guess myself a great deal. This film inspired me to start following my instincts and contemplate less.

Film enthusiasts look at this film as being extremely entertaining like me or the worst film Truffaut ever produced. Regardless of people's reasons for liking or hating the film, I feel as if "Shoot the Piano Player" is one of Truffaut's most famous and most remembered films.