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13 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :- Almost Perfect, 19 August 2000 Author: whiterat1
This is a beautiful movie. It portrays the drama of childhood very realistically and accurately captures the workings of children's minds as they try to make sense of a world that seems tremendously confusing at times. The film deals with all aspects of childhood, from school cafeterias to child abuse, without much adult interpretation of the events. For the most part Truffault is an observer who simply takes the world of these children for what it is: an incomplete, thus innocent, mysterious reality to be figured out by the children in due time. The only time in the movie where he does not do this is the speech by the teacher towards the end of the movie about childrens' rights and the formation of a childrens' political party or some such nonsense (very French--I suppose all French movies must have a "French" moment or two, so all is forgiven).That having been said, this movie is brilliant and Truffault remains a master, in my eyes.
10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :- One of Truffaut's masterpieces - a brilliant film, 12 August 2001 Author: (eguirald-1) from Santiago, Chile
This a very French film, with generous helpings of humanity, humour and a sense of poetic realism. It is unpretentious and simple, yet very accurate and witty on its depiction of the realistic/surrealistic world children inhabit. There are several brilliant sequences; for instance, the scene where a rather shy boy (who lives a secluded life with his handicapped father) displays a healthy appetite while sharing a dinner at a schoolmate's home is poignant yet reassuringly lively and optimistic. We are also reminded that children are very resilient (watch the sequence involving the little Gregory and his cat.) With this film, François Truffaut reaffirmed his mastery as a film-maker and urban poet.
10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :- Truffaut at his best, 19 December 1999 Author: Junker-2 from Wisconsin
While Francois Truffaut made many wonderful films, he was always at his best when dealing with children. In "Small Change" he handles many of the same themes as he did in his classic "The 400 Blows." But this time he is capturing the joy of childhood, not the pain. One could say, in fact, that this is "The 400 Blows" with sugar frosting on top. It is a pure delight from beginning to end.Scenes to watch for: 1) Little Gregory's adventure at the window (a scene that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud), 2) The double date at the movies, and 3) The teacher watching the birth of his first child.Francois, why did you have to leave us so soon?
9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :- clever portrait of children, 14 January 2004 Author: madrig80 from Italy
Instead of characterizing children as angelic creatures without personality or true emotions, Truffaut portrays them as they are: young people with their own dreams and everyday problems. This movie is funny and touching, never slow and always enjoyable.
10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :- yes! yes!yes!, 25 March 2002 Author: hknakna from us
I've watched many of Truffaut's films and have found most of them to be really quite wonderful. This film has solidified his status in my book as the best of the French New Wave. I've waited to actually say that in print until I'd seen a good number of the offerings from the movement. Godard is too gimmicky, Chabrol too one track(though still well loved), Rohmer too static(but charming),Demy doesn't have the filmography and neither does Resnais or Varda(Demy's wife). Truffaut's films have a sensitivity, an intimacy and a simple quality that speak volumes to me.Small Change(Pocket Money)has all of those qualities and more. I laughed and I cried but I never once felt that this great director had manipulated me. Sometimes films with children have a tendency to make me feel used. My heart strings pulled in every direction and twisted into every shape. Truffaut had no intention of mauling the senses instead he lets the childrens lives unfold naturally with the joys and sadnesses of all children. It was my very own memory of childhood for there is some child in this film who represents all of us.
8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :- Enjoyable slice of film about childhood, 4 May 1999 Author: Paul P from Indiana
Small Change is a movie about the many children in a French town. It will irritate those who want a strong plot line. Although there are a couple continuing threads, particularly about a boy facing physical abuse at home, the film is mostly episodic and jumps randomly among dozens of children and unconnected events. In that sense, it is sort of like the way we tend to remember our own childhoods. I liked the approach.There are several memorable sequences. I enjoyed the girl who wants to go out to dinner on her own terms and the spur of the moment "double date" at the movie theater.One of the strengths of Small Change is that doesn't try to play up the cuteness of the child actors or overly-sentamentalize its subject matter. It is about the frustrations as well as the small joys of childhood. The adult characters are also very realistic, some of whom like kids and some of whom don't. The school teachers are the most sympathetic, one of whom seems to articulate the film's theme in a strong a monologue near the end.
7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :- Children's realm., 15 August 2001 Author: dbdumonteil
When this film was released,one French critic,Gilles Colpart wrote that TRuffaut did better when he focused on a main character,Antoine Doinel,for instance.At least here,we do not have to stand Jean-Pierre Léaud's mannerism.The people who watch Léaud's movies dubbed in English cannot imagine how lucky they are.Gone is Léaud,gone is Truffaut's sometimes smugness and pretension.Here we find what Truffaut does best:a movie about children played by children (he had brilliantly succeeded in the very hard task of bringing Victor the "wild child" to the screen)A lot of humor (a quality that is not generally Truffaut's forte),a lot of plots and subplots masterfully intertwined,no stars ,and a lot of spontaneity too.These vignettes are often delightful:the reluctant student declaiming Molière,the girl who "has already slept with a boy"(What did he do when you were in bed?her best friend asks-Oh,he read a comic strip, was the answer),the boy who says to his friend's mother "thanks for this frugal meal" after having swallowed a whole lot of food.But Truffaut,present in the movie through the schoolteacher character,does not give up more serious topics:here mistreated children.After he discovered one of his pupils suffered such physical cruelty,the schoolteacher explains this problem to his school mates with delicacy and intelligence,as if they were adults.Don't miss this simple,yet heart-warming movie.
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- Moments of Childhood Closely Observed, 22 April 2006 Author: (jasonayoub73@hotmail.com) from Toronto
Small Change unfolds like a poem - it's a collection of moments, thoughts and experiences, all clustered together, adding up to a very significant outcome. What it amounts to is the most thoughtful reflections of childhood I've ever seen, given from the perspective of many different age groups.The film has many scenes that are used as a vehicle to illustrate the differences between children and adults - usually comparing the former favorably to the latter. This is clear in a scene where a girl and her father watch two seemingly identical goldfish swimming around in a fishbowl. "That's Plic" says the girl. "And that's Ploc." But her father can't see the difference. A child's superior eye for detail has rarely been so clearly exposed on film.Most of the vignettes are funny. Some demonstrate childhood resilience, such as a scene where a toddler falls nine stories but is uninjured. Another shows children's uncanny ability to make the best of a bad situation, when a girl left alone at home thinks of an interesting way to draw attention to herself.But among these funny episodes a more serious situation develops. The movie slowly but sharply draws a contrast between the children who come from loving families, and one child, a youth of about 13, who does not. Moments of this abused child's life are also closely observed - the pain of rejection, the joy of finding coins on the ground at an amusement park, and the innovative schemes to get by and survive. Julien's childhood is shown as a painful period, but an occasionally magical one nonetheless.What is so pleasurable about viewing Small Change is its simplicity - it's rarely a film where you constantly need to grope your mind for implications or deeper meaning. Most of the scenes are remarkably uncluttered, just like childhood itself.Unbelievably, this film was rated R upon its original release, then rightfully changed to a PG upon public outcry. A PG-13 would probably be the most appropriate rating, but this classification wouldn't come into effect for another 7 years. It is completely appropriate for children, but does seem geared primarily towards adults. Because the language is quite simple, it could also be viewed as an ideal movie in second or third year French. Not just for fans of Truffaut, I couldn't recommend this remarkable movie more.
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- Pocket Money, 2 October 2001 Author: darthchico from Texas
I have a love for movies with no real plot. Small Change is a perfect example of this. Instead of relying on a story to express his ideas, Truffaut uses small vignettes, sometimes hardly related to the main body of the film at all. What this creates is a portrait of the small town in which these people lives. Truffaut captures the entire spectrum of human emotion. 10/10
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- A piece of art, 2 December 2000 Author: alicappi (alicappi@aol.com) from MN, USA
How to denounce social subjects? It is not easy. This excellent French movie director, Truffaut made it in "A small change" and in such a vivid way that I felt moved and touched by all children that were acting. And I always try to respect the culture of each movie director I found the words of the teacher at the end of the movie very smart. He was giving his last words before Summer vacations. And while many kids were going to have fun one of the class had been abused! This was good. It shows compromise and respect towards our pals, our classmates, etc. It was great!
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