Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Small Change
It's near the end of the school year in the small French town of Thiers. We see the separate and overlapping lives of a variety of children (for example, motherless Patrick who is both impressed by a classmate's mother and the opposite sex in general, Sylvie who works hard to manipulate her parents, a pair of brothers who give a friend a haircut to save money, a toddler who falls out an apartment window and is unharmed, and the new student Julien who is poor and secretive) and the adults around them (widowed and single parents looking for a partner, an earnest teacher whose wife gives birth to their first child). There's no "plot" per se, and yet the movie shows an amazing range of human emotions and experience, and reaches a lovely peak when Martine gives Patrick the eye at summer camp. A delightfully charming 1976 achievement by the great Francois Truffaut.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
SMALL CHANGE ( l'Argent de Poche ) is a movie written and directed by François Truffaut in 1976. Nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Thiers, a small town in the middle of France. A few weeks in the life of the schoolchildren of Jean-François Stévenin and Virginie Thévenet, the teachers of the grade school. Among them, there is Julien who lives with his mother and grandmother and is molested by them. There is also Patrick who lives alone with his physically handicapped father and falls in love with his best friend's mother.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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Analysis of Small Change
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Kids:
- general coming of age story
Taboo Sex Story?
Yes
Kind of sex:
- molestation
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Main Char. ethnic: (if not US Caucasian)
- French
Story of city/rural life?
- Small Town
Culture of surrounding area:
- French
Age group
- trouble in grade school
Sexing?
- girl chasing
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- teacher/professor
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- blonde
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
How much in movie?
- 20%
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- French
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting
- school
- theater
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
- thoughtful
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- seeing breasts
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- French
Subtitles?
- Yes
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
