Bed and Board (1970)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Bed and Board (1970) – F. Truffaut

Truffaut’s gently comic return to Antoine Doinel (his surrogate, played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, first featured in The 400 Blows and subsequently in several other features), who is now married and living with Christine (his girlfriend in Stolen Kisses).  He still hasn’t established a consistent career and the two jobs he holds in this film are particularly wacky.  When their son Alphonse is born, Antoine has an affair with a Japanese woman that almost breaks up his marriage.  But again, despite his haplessness and unwillingness to take on responsibility, Truffaut remains affectionate toward him and things end well.  Really, though, it is difficult to imagine the same material working as well in another director’s hands – so warm and welcoming (although some of this should be attributed to Leaud’s presence, I’m sure).