Jean-Pierre Léaud reprises his role as Antoine Doinel, the protagonist of François Truffaut's iconic directorial debut, The 400 Blows (1959). Doinel is now in his early 20s — older, but little wiser. After being dishonorably discharged from the army, he is unable to hold onto one job for long, and is just as unwilling to commit to his girlfriend. Truffaut creates a comedy that explores youth's fickleness, perfectly personified by the energetic and charismatic Léaud.