A hilltop school empties itself of a day’s worth of pre-teens and we watch them run pell-mell down several outdoor staircases. A vibrant, colourful life force, they tumble out onto the main street of Thiers, a small middle-class neighbourhood in France. It is 1976, and Francois Truffaut’s camera prepares to show us the philosophies and pranks of childhood. For all the blockbusters and big bucks in the world, we still need the joyous jingle and riches of Small Change (translated from the French title L'Argent de Poche) .
Truffaut’s film takes us far from our world of highways and high-rises. We are back to the quaint concept and context of the neighbourhood – suddenly, it doesn’t even matter which part of the Western world we are in, because all around us there are families within families, where much is familiar. Perhaps too familiar! And that’s when the fun starts.
Two young teenagers out on a double date find themselves at the same show as their teacher and his wife. Little Sylvie’s resolve to stay at home alone for dinner (when her mother refuses to let her take an ugly bunny bag to a restaurant)results in a delightful tour de force involving her classmates and their families who live in the same housing society. The loudest laugh comes when the enterprising da Luca siblings give their classmate a disastrous haircut and everyone is made to pay for it in more ways than one.
The 1971 British film Melody (also known as S.W.A. L. K – Sealed with a Loving Kiss) directed by Waris Hussein, attempts humour of this kind, but is not as effective. Engaging in its own way, Melody is too determined to stick its London stamp on every postcard scene. As declared by all involved in its making, Melody was meant to build itself around the now legendary songs of the Bee Gees ( To Love Somebody, 1st of May) with crowd-pulling child actors (Jack Wild, who played the Artful Dodger in Carol Reed’s Oliver! and heartthrob Mark Lester who played Oliver himself) to ensure its appeal.
The charm of Small Change lies in its non-professional cast of children. Through camera close-ups and detailed shots, the director allows gentle and more serious moments to touch us wordlessly and at times, almost soundlessly.
Patrick is the young son of a loving but wheelchair-bound father. Patrick’s eyes tell us how he would like to have a beautiful mum who can kiss him goodbye every morning at the school gate – just like Laurent’s mum does. Patrick has never eaten as much at a meal as the one Laurent’s mother asks him to join the family for, and somehow, he even thinks he is falling in love with her. It is only natural that Patrick spends all his small change on a bouquet of red roses (for “deep love”) to present to Laurent’s mother.
For Patrick’s loner classmate Julien, small change is hardly to be found. Foraging for food in the cloakroom and skulking around classrooms and deserted fairgrounds, Julien resorts to petty thefts for sustenance. The suggestions of Julien being neglected and abused do not make for the focus of the film, but after this is discovered and measures are taken for Julien’s rehabilitation, teacher Jean François Stevenin tells his class tactfully of their duty to speak up against injustice. This is a sobering moment of realisation and responsibility, but fortunately, it is not the last scene of the film.
It is now 40 years since Small Change (also translated as Pocket Money) was first screened. A single effervescent incident in the film captures its buoyancy: little Gregory, all of two, wanders onto a high window ledge for one electrifying and riveting moment. He misses his footing, but to the astonishment and relief of all, little Gregory lands on the ground, fearless and smiling.
For Truffaut, resilience is the essence of childhood.
For previous entries in the Film School series, see here and here.