On the 50th anniversary of the rise of the French New Wave, here is a chance to revisit the film that started it all. In addition to being a landmark in cinema history, François Truffaut’s debut film remains a brilliant and soulful work by the renowned critic-turned-filmmaker, who crafted a startling snapshot of, and blueprint for, a new generation of cineastes, cinephiles and cultural rebels in the story of Antoine Doinel (the young Jean-Pierre Léaud), a restively intelligent 12-year-old living under the unmindful roof of his mother and stepfather. In the company of his only friend, Antoine the truant (and the stand-in for both filmmaker and his star) finds a passionate solace in—what else?—movies, but must flee the comforts of cinema and the indifference of home after being expelled from school. Needless to say, neither Antoine nor filmmaking would ever be the same again.

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Written by François Truffaut. Photographed by Henri Decaë. With Jean-Pierre Léaud, Guy Decomble, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy. (99 min, Janus Films)