Candid currency

Few films offer as sincere and fascinating a view of childhood than Francois Truffaut's Small Change, which CineVerse featured yesterday. Highlights of our group discussion are as follows.

WHAT SURPRISED YOU ABOUT “SMALL CHANGE”? HOW DID IT DIFFER FROM YOUR PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS?

·       It’s an episodic film that doesn’t follow conventional narrative storytelling structure; it weaves together a series of vignettes featuring child characters who are loosely connected in that many attend the same school or are possibly from the same neighborhood/community.

·       Its tone is predominantly light, nostalgic and fun, although it can be dark (the subplot involving the abused child), suspenseful (the child endangered by the open window), and bittersweet (the student whose crush on his teacher is ignored).

·       It also has a surprising and refreshing frankness in its tone, and a feeling of unscripted, real-life honesty in the performances and shots, which often bear the look of documentary filmmaking.

·       It has distinctive European/French sensibilities to it that can appear fresh, novel and insightful to American audiences who are used to films that pander and condescend in their approach to children.   

·       The acting by the children is quite admirable and natural, as if they weren’t acting at all: Truffaut primarily cast non-professionals and everyday children for extra spontaneity and credibility, and he encouraged improvisation and deviation from the script.

WHAT PROMINENT THEMES ARE SUGGESTED IN “SMALL CHANGE”?

·       The resiliency and inventiveness of children, who learn to adapt to their environments.

·       The crucial importance of the formative childhood years in shaping our adult personalities.

·       Adults need to recognize how vulnerable and impressionable children are and work to safeguard each child’s fundamental right to be nurtured, fed, sheltered, protected from abuse and neglect, get an education, and form social interactions.

·       Children are often excluded from the world of adults; this idea is exemplified in the predominant use of windows, doors and other enclosures, which serve as physical and symbolic barriers between kids and grown-ups in the movie.

WHAT ARE SOME HALLMARKS OF TRUFFAUT’S STYLE AS A FILMMAKER?

·       Many of his pictures share an insightful sympathy with children and feature child characters/actors as the main protagonists.

·       Several of his movies depict “coming of age” themes and situations that involve a child’s loss of innocence, disillusionment, precociousness, and resourcefulness.

·       He also enjoys depicting “a film within a film”; in Small Change, this occurs when the townspeople attend the local cinema and view a short concerning a popular mime.

·       Additionally, many of the characters and situations portrayed in his films are drawn from real life incidents and personal experiences.

·       Many of his movies have been described as lyrical, nostalgic, sentimental, romantic, and inventive in the way he brings fluidity to his camera movement and in the way he uses freeze frames and innovative editing techniques a hallmark of the French New Wave, of which he was the poster child director.

OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY TRUFFAUT

·       The autobiographical Antoine Doinel series of 4 films: The 400 Blows, Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, and Love on the Run.

·       Shoot the Piano Player

·       Jules and Jim

·       Fahrenheit 451

·       The Bride Wore Black

·       Day for Night

·       The Man Who Loved Women

·       The Last Metro