Small Change (film)

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, and his friend Julien Leclou, who lives in poverty and is physically abused at home. Julien cannot stay awake at school after a night without sleep and refuses to undress to hide his bruises. The film mixes the story of these characters with other more of 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, 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! Live 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 steel yourselves to face it. I don't mean "hard-boiled". I am talking about 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!"

Cast

Most of the characters were not professional actors.

Children

Adults

Production

Truffaut had been collecting anecdotes about children since the time of The 400 Blows. Some of the incidents 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 started casting. The filiming lasted from 17 July 1975 until October. The original rough cut was three hours.

Acclaim

When released, Small Change amassed critical acclaim. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. Vincent Canby of the New York Times called Small Change, "an original, a major work in minor keys" and Pauline Kael described it as, "that rarity, a poetic comedy that's really funny." Roger Ebert named it his favorite of the year, calling it a "magical film" and singled out the windowsill scene as "Truffaut at his best." Leonard Maltin gave the movie four stars (out of four) and called it "wise, witty and perceptive." The film was also entered into the 26th Berlin International Film Festival.

Box Office

The film achieved box office success in France, the United States, Germany, Scandinavia, and Japan, ranking as the 17th most popular film of the year in France.