Uroki frantsuzkogo

The movie is set in the post-World War II years in a small village. The story centers on a mother and her three children, whose father was lost in the war, as were many others. The 11-year-old son, a smart and capable boy, is the main help with housekeeping. However, since there is only a primary school in the village, he is sent to study in a neighboring village over 50 kilometers away. There, he lives with a friend of his mother, a woman with two children. His mother brings food once every three weeks, and he cooks and eats separately from the household. To earn more food, he plays a game for money. He is also beaten by older boys, a common form of childhood cruelty.