--- title: "Zero for Conduct" year: 1933 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/zero-for-conduct" fi1m_id: "zero-for-conduct" imdb_id: "tt0024803" tmdb_id: 44494 wikidata_id: "Q613216" fi1m_score: 80 critics_reviews: 2 published: "2026-09-25T01:15:11.127256+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T01:15:12.255339+00:00" region: "ZA" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Zero for Conduct (1933) Directed by Jean Vigo · 48m · Comedy, Drama ## Identity Zero for Conduct - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/zero-for-conduct - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** zero-for-conduct - **IMDb ID:** tt0024803 - **TMDB ID:** 44494 - **Wikidata ID:** Q613216 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024803/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/44494, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q613216 **Fi1m score: 80** · Critics: 2 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* The school has a General Supervisor, which seems an excessive response to boys wanting to play > Jean Vigo’s school comedy takes the children’s side with a warmth that survives its rough construction. The adults are sometimes too easy to laugh at, but the pleasure of disobedience makes this short film worth seeking out. ## Synopsis At a boarding school, Caussat (Louis Lefebvre), Colin (Gilbert Pruchon), Bruel (Constantin Goldstein-Kehler) and Tabard (Gérard de Bédarieux) are among the boys living under adult supervision. Around them are Supervisor Huguet (Jean Dasté), Supervisor Pète-Sec (Robert le Flon) and General Supervisor Bec-de-Gaz (Du Verron), with the Principal (Delphin) heading the school. Childhood play keeps coming up against the demand for good conduct. The boys want space to amuse themselves, but the school staff have their own ideas about how the day should be spent. ## Review *Zero for Conduct* is a funny, scrappy defence of children who would rather play than be managed, and we recommend it with a warning about its loose construction. Jean Vigo writes and directs as though good behaviour were a poor measure of a child’s worth. He gives the boys’ unruliness the attention that a more dutiful school film might give their lessons. The pleasure comes from being allowed to share it without waiting for an adult to explain what it means. The boarding school supplies a hierarchy ready to take itself seriously, with several grades of supervision beneath the Principal. Robert le Flon plays Supervisor Pète-Sec and Du Verron is General Supervisor Bec-de-Gaz, job titles that suggest no shortage of attention to conduct. There is something funny about so much professional authority being brought to bear on children who want to amuse themselves. The distinctions of rank help make the school’s concern with obedience seem faintly absurd before we have decided whose side to take. Louis Lefebvre, Gilbert Pruchon, Constantin Goldstein-Kehler and Gérard de Bédarieux give the boys a presence that does not depend on making them exemplary. We laughed, then found ourselves feeling protective of them. The contrast between their appetite for play and the adults’ elaborate arrangements for supervising them did it. Childhood here is allowed to be irritating, which makes the affection convincing: we need not imagine that we would enjoy being responsible for these boys to enjoy their company. Boris Kaufman’s cinematography makes the children worth looking at for their own sake, even when the story has little need of them. The attention paid to their shared amusement is essential to the comedy; a stricter demand for progress would leave it poorer. Maurice Jaubert’s music contributes to the affection without making the misbehaviour feel cute. Both contributions help us accept the uneven telling, though neither can make every passage feel necessary or every connection clear. The editing, also by Jean Vigo, is where our reservation becomes harder to ignore. At 48 minutes, the film hardly asks for much of an evening, yet its looseness can leave us wanting firmer connections between its parts. Individual pleasures sometimes seem to have been trusted to carry us further than they can. A little more shape would help, particularly when the pleasure of watching the boys has to sustain our interest in what happens next. Jean Dasté is welcome as Supervisor Huguet because his performance allows an adult some ease in the children’s company. Delphin, as the Principal, makes a sharper comic target, and the difference gives the school some welcome variety. Even so, the adults can seem too conveniently ridiculous, leaving the boys with opponents we have little difficulty dismissing. The caricatures are amusing, but there are moments when we would prefer a person capable of surprising us. School comedies often invite us to approve of children once they have learnt something useful. This one has enough affection for them before any such improvement, and that generosity makes its roughness easier to forgive. Its sympathy also survives our suspicion that we might be considerably less patient with the boys ourselves. Choose it when children being inconvenient sound like better company than adults explaining how to grow up. *Fi1m score 80, published 25 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Zero for Conduct worth watching?** *Zero for Conduct* is worth watching for its funny, affectionate defence of children who would rather play than obey, and we score it 80 out of 100. Its 48 minutes suit anyone drawn to unruly school comedy, though the loose construction and conveniently ridiculous adults sometimes leave us wanting more. **How long is Zero for Conduct, and what is it rated?** *Zero for Conduct* runs 48m. It is a comedy and drama film. **Where can I watch Zero for Conduct in South Africa?** *Zero for Conduct* is not on any streaming or rental service in South Africa at the moment. It is available in 2 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Zero for Conduct compare to The 400 Blows?** *Zero for Conduct* is the more openly comic choice beside [*The 400 Blows*](https://film.one/film/the-400-blows), sharing its sympathy for children at odds with authority but making the adults easier targets. We recommend *The 400 Blows* as the stronger choice for a patient portrait of mischief and vulnerability without easy reassurance; Vigo’s scrappy film suits an appetite for the pleasure of disobedience. **What should I watch after Zero for Conduct?** After *Zero for Conduct*, try [*The 400 Blows*](https://film.one/film/the-400-blows) (1959, Fi1m 91): Another child’s difficulties with authority, treated with patience and without easy reassurance. Then [*Kes*](https://film.one/film/kes) (1969, Fi1m 88): A schoolboy deserves more attention than the adults around him can offer; and [*The Florida Project*](https://film.one/film/the-florida-project) (2017, Fi1m 88): Children make room for play while adult troubles remain dangerously close. ### Reviews we read (2) - **Time Out** (90/100, inferred): The critic regards Vigo’s film as a classic. The page singles out its boarding-school setting as anticipating rebellious cinema. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/zero-for-conduct-1) - **Collider**, Andre Dellamorte (75/100, inferred): The critic regards Zero for Conduct as a spirited, thrilling work that brings Vigo’s distinctive sensibilities into focus. He particularly praises its alignment with the children and its embrace of the anarchy of childhood play. [Read](https://collider.com/jean-vigo-criterion-blu-rayreview-orpheus-criterion-blu-ray/) ## Details - **Director:** Jean Vigo - **Director:** Jean Vigo - **Writer:** Jean Vigo - **Cinematography:** Boris Kaufman - **Editor:** Jean Vigo - **Music:** Maurice Jaubert - **Producer:** Jean Vigo - **Cast:** Jean Dasté as Supervisor Huguet; Robert le Flon as Supervisor Pète-Sec; Du Verron as General Supervisor Bec-de-Gaz; Delphin as Principal; Léon Larive as Teacher; Madame Émile as Mother Haricot; Louis de Gonzague as Prefect; Raphaël Diligent as Firefighter - **Runtime:** 48m - **First release (France):** 7 April 1933 - **Genres:** Comedy, Drama ## Where to watch in South Africa Not streaming, renting or buying in South Africa at the last check. Also available in: BE, FR. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The 400 Blows* (1959), Fi1m 91: Another child’s difficulties with authority, treated with patience and without easy reassurance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-400-blows.md) - *Good Morning* (1959): Children resist adult rules, with domestic comedy replacing the boarding school’s battles. - *Kes* (1969), Fi1m 88: A schoolboy deserves more attention than the adults around him can offer. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/kes.md) - *Where Is the Friend's House?* (1987): A child’s urgent concern meets grown-ups who keep attending to something else. - *The Florida Project* (2017), Fi1m 88: Children make room for play while adult troubles remain dangerously close. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-florida-project.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/zero-for-conduct