This film was particularly intriguing to me as I used to work as a dinner lady in a boarding school for boys a similar age, making some moments particularly relatable such as the food fight in the canteen. As for the film itself, I found the use of camera angles most intriguing. Most shots were wide allowing the audience to invest in the scene as a whole but not necessarily to a particular character. I also really like the slow motion march through the feathers post pillow fight. It made the sense of revolution into a romantic notion.
There was a clear power dynamic between the children and the teachers. By casting a short man as the headmaster at first I thought it was a comical move, to have such an authority figure be just as small as the pupils. But then I thought could also highlight how we are all human, no one human should be considered more important than another.
Paulo Emílio Salles Gomes (biographer of director Jean Vigo) claimed that Zero for Conduct could be seen as a microcosm: "the division to the children and adults inside the school corresponds to the division of society into classes outside: a strong minority imposing its will on a weak majority."
This film was banned in many countries for a very long time (60 years in Europe). Why? Many at the time thought the film was absurd but also could have the power to trigger a riotous response. The French Ministry of Interior thought that the film could be capable "creating disturbances and hindering the maintenance of order." I found this particularly intriguing as in today's society freedom of speech in France is considered such an important right and within free speech lies the right to question authority.
Image Source: https://www.giffonifilmfestival.it/en/sezioni-film-1989/2866-zero-for-conduct.html
Quotes Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_for_Conduct
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