ThiefHott Too much of everything

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

blanche-2 "Stolen Kisses" is about Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud, in an exquisite performance), part of a three-film cycle about this young man who is trying to figure out life, love, and where and with whom he belongs.In the beginning of the film, Antoine is dishonorably discharged from the army and thus his job hunt begins. He's really not very good as a gift-wrapper, or as the night watchman at a hotel, or as a private detective. The detective job takes up most of the film. He is dispatched to work undercover in a shoe shop to find out why nobody likes the boss. He falls head over heels for the boss' stunningly beautiful wife Fabienne. We also see Antoine dealing with his on-again, off-again relationship with his girlfriend Christine, who wants him when he doesn't want her, and vice versa. Accompanied by a beautiful music score and set in '60s Paris, "Stolen Kisses" is a whimsical, sometimes cynical film about different levels of love (often existing in one relationship), the search for self, and for loving the unattainable. The follow-up is "Bed and Board."

Rodrigo Amaro It amazes me that everybody watch "The 400 Blows", love the film but doesn't have interest in following all the other adventures of Antoine Doinel or people seem to lose track of just five films but prefer to watch all James Bond films. What amazes me even more is that the other films of Antoine appeals more to me than the original one, although I love and rank them on the same level.In the most comical film of Doinel series "Stolen Kisses", Jean-Pierre Léaud playing his unforgettable character, is discharged from the army and needs to find a new job. He starts as night watchman, something ridiculous happens and then he's out of work. Later, he works as a private investigator, having an unique talent for the job and getting himself involved with some bizarre investigations; and one of them takes him to his new fake job as a stock boy in Mr. Tabard's shoes-shop when this guy wants to know why nobody likes him and Doinel must find the reason. While there, he falls in love with Tabard's wife who also seems obsessed with him; Doinel has other things to investigate and other female interests, and of course he meets Colette and Christine again, women presented in Doinel's other films.Here's what Truffaut makes: he takes this hard-working character, puts him in strange, humored yet very realistic situations of the day-by-day, brings back some connections of the previous films too and the result is a nice, funny, beautiful film that gives a positive light to Antoine Doinel, a man only trying to survive in the best way he can. It's very surprising how he can manage to do so many things in different lines of work specially if you consider that in "The 400 Blows" he hated school, he hadn't patience to sit and learn, the same thing happen in the beginning of this film, the reason why he was discharged of Army, yet he can do lots of things, a multi task man for all seasons. Truffaut succeeds in doing what Woody Allen sometimes tries so hard to do and that is make something really funny with a sense of realism and absurd going altogether, hand in hand. It's a perfect romantic comedy too, since Doinel is seen chasing women and all (the funniest date he has is with a woman so tall that makes him feel like a midget next to her, this moment can be seen also in "Love on the Run").Léaud is always brilliant playing the director's alter ego, he's very funny, charming, very good looking. The story is all good with great and hilarious dialogs and insights, unforgettable sequences and plenty of humor. And who could possibly predict that Doinel's life would be THAT good? Certainly not me, not him or anyone else. Here's a surprising and lovely film, and one of the most funniest I've ever seen. 10/10

rjyelverton The first full length sequel to "The 400 Blows" is bound to suffer by comparison to the masterwork preceding it. "The 400 Blows" is one of cinema's greatest achievements, an indictment of child abuse and neglect that's hard to shake. Its follow-up, "Stolen Kisses", is a breezy, unfocused farce that at times seems hastily assembled. Reviewing the film I am reminded of the danger of undertaking a task of reviewing The Great Films. My dislike of them, or failure to "get" them, is more likely to reveal my ignorance than the film's flaws. I fear that I will be exposed as a Philistine. But here goes."Stolen Kisses" is not a bad film. But it is not a great one. Jean Pierre Leaud returns as the romantic Antoine Doinel and it is a testament to his charisma and charm that we continue to watch the series with interest despite its decline in quality. Doinel is still running everywhere, unlucky in love, bad at life, and still dreaming big. As noted before, the fact that Doinel emerged from "The 400 Blows" a relatively happy person is both a relief and--possibly this reveals a cruel streak in this author--a disappointment. "Blows" closing note of doom and sadness is bleak, but perfect and we can't but help feel that the film's coda is undermined by a sequel.While "Blows" was wistful, "Kisses" is comic. It features the wacky misadventures of Antoine Doinel and more than a little mugging by Jean Pierre Leaud. We get to see him fail miserably as a private detective, hotel porter, and television repairman. These scenes of professional failure are often played broadly and Truffaut's direction seems at times rushed and uneven. The film's heart lies in Leaud's relationship with Christine Darbon (Claude Jade). As with Collete in the previous installment, Antoine is doted on by Christine's parents. Through them, he finds a semblance of the parental bonds he never had.Christine and Antoine's relationship gives the film heart. It is pensive and sweet: the anxious Antoine attacking the demure Christine all while trying to figure out romance. While trying to snag Christine, Antoine will also find himself involved in an affair with a married woman who also offers him a lesson in romance and the fairer sex. This is the coming of age chapter of the Doinel cycle and it never quite coalesces into a pleasing whole. It's choppy and disappointing in light of its predecessor. Yet the performances by Leaud and Jade recommend the film and those who grew attached to Antoine in "Blows" will desire to follow his story further.

Alan J. Jacobs This film followed a showing of "Antoine and Colette" simply did not measure up. Leaud as a bumbling private eye is an interesting conceit, but strikes one as too much of a device. The reality of the character disappears into caricature. The comedy is forced, the romance is forced. Except for the early scenes of his discharge from the Army and a trip to the whorehouse, the movie was uninteresting. Perhaps the private eye genre is one that I have trouble relating to. In "Antoine and Colette", a segment of "Love at Twenty," Leaud worked in a record factory. The humble and inherently unfunny job was a good contrast to his fanciful romantic life. It also played nicely with the theme of two music lovers doing a mating dance. "Stolen Kisses" is more slapsticky, but only goes part of the way to comedy. It's a tepid work.