Haruki Murakami's 2005 novel Kafka on the Shore utilizes a grand spectrum of allusions to all sorts of things; from art, to music, to historical figures, to films. While Murakami alludes to a few films throughout the course of his book, his multiple references to the French New Wave film The 400 Blows clearly holds the most significance. Murakami says so much in regards to Kafka’s characterization through paralleling his life to The 400 Blows. The first clear parallel and the most obvious one to notice without delving deeper into the film comes from both protagonists’ statuses as runaway children. Kafka claims he first sees the around age eleven, only a year away from the movies protagonist, Antoine Doinel. Kafka describes a scene from the film in the book when Antoine “steals a bottle of milk” that he replicates after viewing the film, demonstrating a clear connection between the two characters (Murakami 420). One gets the sense that Antoine Doinel not only inspires Kafka, but also exists as a parallel existence along the lines of Crow. Finally, the film clearly leaves a distinct mark on Kafka’s world and psyche. The film shows the brutality of the juvenile correctional system for runaways, instilling a fear of police in Kafka. Also, the protagonist ends the film achieving his goal for freedom: seeing the sea. The shot strikingly resembles the painting “Kafka on the Shore”, a twelve year old gazing forward with the beach and sea behind him. Murakami includes the allusion to The 400 Blows in order to push the depths that an allusion can go to, while also emphasizing themes of interconnectivity through parallels between Kafka Tamura and Antoine Doinel.
