Small Change
Directed byFrançois Truffaut
Written byFrançois Truffaut
Suzanne Schiffman
Produced byMarcel Berbert
StarringJean-François Stévenin
Virginie Thévenet
CinematographyPierre-William Glenn
Edited byYann Dedet
Martine Barraqué-Curie
Music byMaurice Jaubert
Production
company
Les Films du Carrosse
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
17 March 1976
Running time
105 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Box office2,071,040 admissions (France)[1]
$1.5 million (US)[2]

Small Change (French: L'Argent de poche) is a 1976 French film directed by François Truffaut about childhood innocence and child abuse. In English-speaking countries outside North America, the film is known as Pocket Money.[3] The film had a total of 1,810,280 admissions in France, making it one of Truffaut's most successful films.[4] Only his films The 400 Blows and The Last Metro were more popular in France.[1]

Plot

Small Change is a story of the struggles and yearnings of young children in Thiers, France, in the summer of 1976. The main characters are Patrick Desmouceaux, who is motherless and just starts getting interested in women such as his young teacher, and his friend Julien Leclou, who lives in poverty and is physically abused at home. Julien cannot stay awake at school after nights without sleep and constantly refuses to change for gym class in order to hide his bruises. The film mixes the story of these characters with other more or less innocent childhood experiences and challenges of a number of children. Scenes include life at school, a toddler and a cat perilously playing on an open windowsill but falling down unhurt, a girl causing confusion with a bullhorn in an apartment window, Bruno showing his friends how to chat up girls, a double date at a movie theater, a child telling a dirty joke, a botched haircut, first love and first kisses.

In the end, Julien's abuse becomes public and he is taken away from his family. The story ends with the message of one of the teachers about child abuse, injustice, children's rights, hope, love and resilience: 'Of all mankind's injustices, injustice to children is the most despicable! Life isn't always fair, but we can fight for justice. [...] If kids had the right to vote, they would have better schools [...] Life isn't easy. You must learn to be tough. I don't mean 'gangster-tough'. What I mean is having endurance and resilience. [...] Time flies. Before long, you will have children of your own. If you love them, they will love you. If they don't feel you love them, they will transfer their love and tenderness to other people. Or to things. That's life! Each of us needs to be loved!'[5]

Cast

All young characters were acclaimed child actors at the time of filming:

Children
  • Philippe Goldmann - Julien Leclou
  • Bruno Staab - Bruno
  • Geory Desmouceaux - Patrick Desmouceaux
  • Laurent Devlaeminck - Laurent Riffle
  • Sylvie Grezel - Sylvie
  • Pascale Bruchon - Martine
  • Claudio Deluca - Mathieu
  • Franck Deluca - Frank
  • Sebastien Marc - Oscar
  • Richard Golfier - Richard
  •  ? - Grégory, a toddler
Adults
  • Nicole Félix - Grégory's mother (as Nicole Felix)
  • Chantal Mercier - Chantal Petit, the Schoolteacher
  • Jean-François Stévenin - Jean-François Richet, the Schoolteacher
  • Virginie Thévenet - Lydie Richet
  • Tania Torrens - Nadine Riffle, hairdresser, Laurent's mother
  • Francis Devlaeminck - Monsieur Riffle, hairdresser, Laurent's father
  • René Barnerias - Monsieur Desmouceaux, Patrick's father
  • Katy Carayon - Sylvie's Mother
  • Jean-Marie Carayon - Police inspector, Sylvie's father
  • Annie Chevaldonne - Nurse
  • Michel Dissart - Monsieur Lomay, constable
  • Michele Heyraud - Madame Deluca, Mathieu and Frank's mother
  • Paul Heyraud - Monsieur Deluca, Mathieu and Frank's father
  • Jeanne Lobre - Julien's grandmother (as Jane Lobre)
  • Vincent Touly - Concierge[6]

Production

Truffaut had been collecting anecdotes about children since the time of The 400 Blows. Some of the events were autobiographical, like his first kiss. By 1972, the script was only a ten-page synopsis. In the summer of 1974, Truffaut became more serious about the project and started developing it further. He and his co-writer did not create a standard script because he wanted the freedom to improvise. In April 1975, Truffaut did location scouting, settled on the town of Thiers, then started casting. The filming lasted from 17 July until October that same year. The original rough cut was three hours.[2]

Release

Box office

Small Change was popular at the box office, in France, the US, Germany, Scandinavia and Japan.[2] It was the 17th most popular film of the year in France.[7]

Critical acclaim

When released, Small Change amassed critical acclaim. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. Vincent Canby, writing for the New York Times, called Small Change 'an original, a major work in minor keys'[8] and Pauline Kael described it as 'that rarity, a poetic comedy that's really funny'.[9] Roger Ebert named it his favorite of the year, calling it a 'magical film' and singled out the window-sill scene as 'Truffaut at his best'.[10] Leonard Maltin gave the movie four stars (out of four) and called it 'wise, witty and perceptive'.[11] Small Change was also entered into the 26th Berlin International Film Festival.[12] It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film by the US National Board of Review.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Box Office information for Francois Truffaut films". Box Office Story.
  2. 1 2 3 de Baecque, Antoine; Toubiana, Serge (2000). François Truffaut. University of California Press. pp. 322–324. ISBN 9780520225244.
  3. ↑ The French title translates as "Pocket Money", but since there was a Paul Newman movie called Pocket Money, Steven Spielberg suggested the title Small Change for the US release. Toubiana, Serge. "Steven Spielberg : la master class". arte.tv. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "L\'Argent de poche (1976) - JPBox-Office".
  5. ↑ Truffaut, F. (1976). Small Change / Pocket Money. Full quote: [...] Of all mankind's injustices, injustice to children is the most despicable! Live isn't always fair, but we can fight for justice. It's the only way. It's a slow process, but we do move forward. All people with power like to claim they are impervious to threats. But they do give in to pressure. A show of strength is the only way to get results. Adults understand that and they obtain what they ask for by demonstrating. I want to show that when adults are determined they can improve their lot. But children's rights are totally ignored. Political parties are not concerned. With kids like Julien or you. Do you know why? Because children don't vote! If kids had the right to vote, they would have better schools and sports facilities. You would get them because the politicians need your vote. You could come to school an hour later in winter instead of rushing out before daylight. I also want to say, because of my own childhood, I feel kids deserve a better deal. That is why I became a school teacher. Life isn't easy. You must steel yourselves to face it. I don't mean 'hard-boiled'. I am talking about endurance and resilience. Some of us, who had a difficult childhood are better equipped for adult life than those who were overprotected by love. It's the law of compensation. Life may be hard, but it's also wonderful. When we are confined to the sickbed, we cannot wait to get out and enjoy life. We sometimes forget how much we really love it. [...] Time flies. Before long, you will have children of your own. If you love them, they will love you. If they don't feel you love them, they will transfer their love and tenderness to other people. Or to things. That's life! Each of us needs to be loved!
  6. ↑ Allen, Don. Finally Truffaut. New York: Beaufort Books. 1985. ISBN 0-8253-0335-4. OCLC 12613514. pp. 235-236.
  7. ↑ "1976 French Box Office". Box Office Story.
  8. ↑ New York Times review
  9. ↑ Amazon.com review
  10. ↑ Roger Ebert's review
  11. ↑ Leonard Maltin's 2006 Movie Guide, Signet: New York
  12. ↑ Awards for Small Change at IMDb
  13. ↑ "1976 Award Winners". National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
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