L'argent de poche (1976)

Second viewing; first seen on April 5, 1994.

U.S. title: Small Change.
Literal translation (and U.K. title): Pocket Money.

Several boys (and an infant), their occupations, interests, interactions among themselves, with girls and with adults; also how their parents and teachers treat them, think about them, educate them. A sort of axis for the narrative is a boy whose father is confined to a wheelchair; this boy has a crush on his friend's mother, and befriends a mysterious colleague who lives in a shabby house and seems to be neglected (or worse) at home.

A cleanness of thought pervades every frame of this film; it has been called 'didactic' and I confess this word has crossed my mind. But it somehow transcends that because of its commitment to frankness. In a nutshell, this is a no-nonsense approach to childhood, a period of life with its specificities, yet without any holiness about it. The sequence at the movie house with the two boys and two girls is possibly worth of special mention for being absolutely brilliant. Although there isn't exactly a plotline, the series of episodes are intelligently woven into a complete narrative. This film's reception has a interest in its own right. It's amazing (well, not really) how old cliches like 'poetic' (with the meaning of 'lyrical') and 'magical' have again been used; what is really amazing is how the filmmaker has somehow predicted this and scoffed at it in advance, in a scene where a parent or grandparent (not sure which) confesses she does not particularly like children and looks after hers because of a sense of duty alone. Nothing could be more un-poetic. On a more controversial note, there is that final speech by the teacher, calling for direct action in a world of rotten politics. Well, think what you will about this, what matters here is that this is exactly how most schoolteachers think. Vincent Canby's review for the New York Times is intelligent, and uses the word 'poetically' in a way some other famous critics do not seem capable of.

Rating: 72 (up from 70)