| Zéro de conduite | |
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Film poster |
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| Directed by | Jean Vigo |
| Produced by | Jean Vigo |
| Written by | Jean Vigo |
| Starring | Jean Dasté Robert le Flon |
| Music by | Maurice Jaubert |
| Cinematography | Boris Kaufman |
| Editing by | Jean Vigo |
| Distributed by | Gaumont |
| Release date(s) | 7 April 1933 |
| Running time | 41 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Zéro de conduite (English: Zero for Conduct) is a 1933 French film directed by Jean Vigo. It was first shown on 7 April 1933, and was subsequently banned in France until 15 February 1946.
The film draws extensively on Vigo's boarding school experiences to depict a repressive and bureaucratised educational establishment in which surreal acts of rebellion occur, reflecting Vigo's anarchist view of childhood. The title refers to a mark the boys would get which prevented from going out on Sundays. It also shows the influence of Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi.
Though the film was not immediately popular, it has proven to be enduringly influential. François Truffaut paid homage to Zéro de conduite in his 1959 film The 400 Blows. The anarchic classroom and recess scenes in Truffaut's film borrow from Vigo's film, as does a classic scene in which a mischievous group of schoolboys are led through the streets by one of their schoolmasters. Director Lindsay Anderson has acknowledged that his own film if.... was inspired by Zero.
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