Zero de conduite (1933)

Jean Vigo made a brave movie when he directed Zero for Conduct. In a defiant, jolly manner, the film follows a bunch of boisterous kids in a boarding school. They won't let themselves become robots in a disciplinarian system. The film, along with the kids, bustles with irreverent life. Vigo treats the children's revolt as a justified act of rebellion against a school that leaves much to be desired. Bad food is served and some of the teachers seem quite sub-par. It's a beautiful and quite experimental little film, that often tells the story through eerie long shots. Sometimes the perspective of the camera is weird, so we approach the world of the school from a strange point of view, which only adds to this carnivalistic universe in which anything is possible and roles are not fixed.