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Small Change
By Charles Cassady Jr.,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Gentle French coming-of-age film is best for teens and up.
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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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What's the Story?
In the French town of Thiers, teachers, parents, and kids are practically neighbors in a close-knit community surrounding the local elementary school (one that's not yet gone co-ed, though change is on the horizon). One teacher, Monseiur Richet, is especially popular with the boys in his class. His wife is pregnant with their first child, and M. Richet keeps his students updated. One of the kids, Laurent, nurtures a crush on a single mom of a classmate, but nothing comes of it (unlike the teen sex comedies that Hollywood would be spewing out in later decades). Julien is a new boy in school, a ragged urchin and occasional thief (but not a bully; nobody is) who dwells apart from the rest, in a dreadful-looking shanty. The story ends with the discovery that Julien has been hiding ongoing grievous physical abuse by his nasty-looking mother and grandmother, and the schoolchildren and administrators do some soul-searching as he goes into foster care.
Is It Any Good?
Though the pace is leisurely and the narrative little more than a string of vignettes, viewers can get hooked and feel by the end that they've been a part of this little town. Acclaimed French director Francois Truffaut made The 400 Blows, considered one of the best-ever dramas about painful male adolescence. SMALL CHANGE (actually called "L'Argent de poche," or "Pocket Money") is a less troubling portrayal of childhood, mixing moments of sweetness and comedy (not too far removed from the best of the Little Rascals) with more serious stuff and observations on how kids from toddlers to tweens interact and think. Truffaut cast non-professionals in a lot of the juvenile roles, and the acting quality varies wildly, but not a moment of it feels forced or phony.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way the kids in the film behave. Discuss with children if they know people like this (including each other).
Ask young viewers what movies most remind them of their own lives, in and out of school. Ask if they enjoy filmmaker Francois Truffaut's natural, realistic style -- or do they prefer glossy Hollywood Spy Kids escapism and sitcom-clever scripting when looking at kids on film?
Movie Details
- In theaters: March 17, 1976
- On DVD or streaming: January 23, 2001
- Cast: Geary Desmouceaux , Jean-Francois Stevenin , Philippe Goldman
- Director: Francois Truffaut
- Studio: MGM/UA
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Friendship
- Run time: 104 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- Last updated: January 2, 2023
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