Small Change (1976)

Critic Pauline Kael neatly summed up the timeless appeal of François Truffaut's 1976 film by calling it "that rarity--a poetic comedy that's really funny." In other words, Truffaut's brilliant, upbeat study of resilient children in a French village is both artistically satisfying and joyously entertaining, proving yet again (after his acclaimed debut film The 400 Blows) that few directors remembered and understood the experience of childhood as clearly as Truffaut. The film's episodic structure reveals its young characters gradually, leaving them and returning to them as their individual stories unfold. Most of the sketches are hilarious (as when a little girl uses a megaphone to announce that she's been "abandoned," resulting in generous gifts of food from her surrounding neighbors), but there's also a story about a boy with abusive parents who learns to survive by his own ingenuity. Throughout, this remarkable film gets all the details precisely right, featuring a youthful cast of kids who don't seem to be acting at all. It's as if Truffaut had somehow gained privileged entrance into their world, and they carried on as if the camera simply wasn't there. (Another French film, Ponette, would achieve a similar, more heartbreaking feat two decades later.) --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com essential video

Wonderful!

Truffant took everyday kids during the summer of 1975 and made a movie with them about the everyday life and issues of children. It can be silly, but it's very real. A wonderful gem. In my top ten favorite films of all times. May 9, 2008

For Truffaut, it's a 'Small' world.

"An original, a major work in minor keys"--Vincent Canby of the New York Times.

While French Director, François Truffaut (1932-1984) is best known for his "Antoine Doinel Cycle" (Adventures of Antoine Doinel (The 400 Blows / Antoine & Collette / Stolen Kisses / Bed & Board / Love on the Run)), and for his films Jules and Jim and The Story of Adele H., his lesser gems from the '70s like Small Change (L'Argent de poche) and Day for Night (La Nuit américaine), shine just as brilliantly. Small Change is a light comedy (suitable for children) set in the French provincial village of Thiers. In chronicling the daily lives of French children living in "the heart of France," Truffaut reveals the magical experience of childhood. "Children exist in a state of grace," one character says in the film. "They pass untouched through dangers that would destroy an adult." Two especially memorable episodic scenes include a 2-year-old boy and a cat playing on a 10th-floor windowsill (a scene which Roger Ebert has called, "Truffaut at his best"), and a girl with a megaphone announcing to the world, "I'm hungry," after her parents have gone out to a restaurant, abandoning her at home (one of the neighbor kids wants to give her a bottle of red wine). "If kids had the vote," a teacher observes, "the world would be a better and a safer place." What is really remarkable about this film is that most of the children were not actors at all. Small Change reveals a brilliant French director in touch with his inner child.

G. Merritt March 13, 2008

Small Change

While this movie provides what I look for in most foreign films - an insight into living life with the subtle differences that make living in another country unique - it's story is a bit plodding without an explanation for the camera's interest until the end. And, that is also a bit of a let down. Watch it if you have a desire to experience public school and low level juvenile delinquency in Europe but don't expect to be drawn into it enough to give a damn about any or the characters. February 8, 2008

A Classic

The cover says one title and the DVD itself translates the French into the other title, so I've listed both. And just for fun, I watched it in Spanish with English subtitles. I understand an occasional Spanish word.

I've reviewed this one before, and now I remember why I kept it. It's about a school year in the lives of some 14-year-old boys at an all-male school, and it starts out so slow that you might wonder why I was even watching it. That's called realism. You immediately get the feeling these can't be actors, just kids, and the closing credits establish that you're right. 1976, so you get to see the hair, the sideburns, the slang in the subtitles, and giggle a little. You see boys you went to school with: thieves, thugs, bullies, misfits, perverts... well, not much in the way of good boys at this school.

You see the little secrets about their home lives that they keep secret. There are no sex scenes, but some boys are definitely thinking about it, and all those scenes are brilliant examples of subtle humor. Still wondering when something will happen? Oh, it will. There's a definite cumulative snowballing here that I recall mentioning in my other review. It is, quite simply, excellent, and that's why I bought a 30-year old French film in China and watched it again in Thailand. If you see it, grab it.

Oh, and let me diffuse some dramatic tension right now, just in case one of my readers actually finds this thing. Nothing bad happens to the cat who falls (gets pushed) out of the window. That scene seriously messed with my head, because I couldn't remember how it ended. I could never recommend a movie where something bad happened to a cat falling out of a window. This was a good cat, too, not a brain dead Persian or anything like that.

August 29, 2006

Sweet movie

I thought Small Change was a delightful film. It is dated 1976 so late baby boomers and early Gen Xer's might really like it. Especially if they remember their childhoods well. I felt Francois Truffaut enjoyed being a child and likes children. That he remembered those little details and feelings so well from his past. Good and bad. I'm one of those people too. I am constantly surprised how few people can remember anything before 12. Or if they do, so few memories. So sad.
July 27, 2006

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