Pocket Money – Radiance

Director: François Truffaut
Screenplay: François Truffaut, Suzanne Schiffman
Starring: Georges Desmouceaux, Philippe Goldmann, Nicole Félix, Chantal Mercier, Jean-François Stévenin
Country: France
Running Time: 106 min
Year: 1976
BBFC Certificate: PG

François Truffaut made a number of films with childhood and adolescence at their core, beginning with both his second short film, Les Mistons, and his debut feature, The 400 Blows. One later film of his that played wholeheartedly around this theme was Pocket Money (a.k.a. Small Change or L’Argent de poche), released in 1976. It doesn’t seem as talked about these days as The 400 Blows and some of Truffaut’s other big-name titles, but Pocket Money is one of the filmmaker’s most commercially successful films and drew considerable acclaim on its release too.

Hoping to remind cineasts of this notable title in Truffaut’s career are Radiance Films, who have regularly been digging around in the filmmaker’s back catalogue for titles to add to their illustrious collection. They’re releasing Pocket Money on Blu-ray and, having enjoyed most of the Truffaut films I’ve seen so far (bar Jules and Jim, which I can’t stand), I got hold of a screener to share my thoughts.

Truffaut originally set out to write a collection of short stories about children, but this project ended up becoming Pocket Money instead. Supposedly, the idea to make a film centred on a number of children like this came even before Truffaut made The 400 Blows. For whatever reason, however, he didn’t realise this dream until much later in his career.

The film is set in the provincial French town of Thiers, and gently follows the everyday adventures and misadventures of a group of children and the adults around them over the course of a couple of months (or thereabouts). Through a series of loosely connected vignettes, Truffaut captures moments of humour, tenderness and pain as the children navigate friendship, curiosity, first love, and small acts of rebellion. At the same time, the film touches on the deeper realities of childhood – loneliness, neglect, and the resilience that allows young people to endure and grow. Rather than focusing on a single plot, Pocket Money unfolds as a mosaic of scenes that celebrate the vitality of youth and the compassion of those who care for them, culminating in a heartfelt plea for children’s rights to love, respect, and joy.

I enjoyed Pocket Money a great deal. It provides a wonderfully natural evocation of childhood. It is often quite sweet but never in a forced, saccharine way. The kids here act like real children, with plenty of cockiness, mischief, goofing around, and even a little mild bullying.

There are some darker scenes, most notably when we follow a young boy named Julien (Philippe Goldmann), whose parents are abusive and neglectful. This leads to a climactic speech from one of the children’s teachers (played by Jean-François Stévenin) that gets a little political, without being preachy.

There’s also a terrifying scene where a rambunctious toddler crawls out onto a window ledge, chasing a cat. To me, this spoke of the dangers children often unknowingly get themselves into yet often bounce out of with relative ease, despite shredding the nerves of their parents and guardians.

The film has an endearing, life-like rhythm that makes for an episodic tale that doesn’t follow a strict narrative, as such. A set of key characters and situations keeps things moving and holds your attention, but largely it takes a loose, free-flowing approach. Your engagement is also held through the energy of the children and the relative brevity of the scenes.

Truffaut talks about how it would have been absurd to give young children a script to recite. Instead, he explained the situations to the kids and let them play out the scenes. This approach resulted in a huge amount of film being shot, but the performances on screen feel wonderfully natural.

Occasionally, there are some forced lines or expressions, but these are minimal and used only when absolutely necessary.

The film isn’t just about children, either. Parents, guardians and teachers play an important part and their roles in the lives of these youngsters are put under the microscope. Two key child characters living in unusual circumstances help develop this theme further. On top of the abused Julien, whom I mentioned earlier, another boy, Patrick (Geory Desmouceaux), has no mother and must care for his disabled father himself.

It all makes for a thought-provoking, yet delightful and occasionally quite touching dance through childhood and all its ups and downs. It deserves to stand alongside The 400 Blows as one of Truffaut’s best films.

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