A French Lesson(1978)

A French Lesson is a post-war drama set in a small French village in the years following World War II. An 11-year-old boy becomes his family's primary support after his father is killed in combat, but he's sent away to attend school in a neighboring village over fifty kilometers away. Living with his mother's friend and her two children, the boy is isolated and neglected—his mother visits only once every three weeks, bringing meager provisions. Desperate to supplement his food, he schemes and gambles with other children. Caught between survival and childhood, he endures bullying from older boys in a harsh portrait of rural poverty and the lingering wounds of war on ordinary families.