A script co-written by François Truffaut (with Claude de Givray), finally realized by Claude Miller (with the help of two more scriptwriters) four years after Truffaut's death. The children's marching song behind the opening credits, containing the phrase "the best way to walk," reminds us that Miller had directed a movie loosely in the Truffaut mode once before. But The Best Way was one of the better of the legion of French coming-of-age films. The Little Thief, a kind of female companion to The 400 Blows, about an adolescent kleptomaniac, is only another dutiful enlistee -- very slight; slightly pretty; pretty dull. And a written coda tacks on an upbeat ending for which no preparation has been apparent on screen. Charlotte Gainsbourg (daughter of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin -- and you can see both of them in her) has a nice pout and a nicer smile, but her wee little breathy voiceless voice is inexpressive and monotonous. (1988) — Duncan Shepherd
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