Having endured a chastening childhood, François Truffaut returned to the theme of growing up in pictures like Les Mistons and The Wild Child. However, this episodic collage set in the provincial town of Thiers is his sunniest insight into the psyche of kids confronted with a range of everyday issues. The principal focus falls on Patrick and his friend Philippe, who respectively have to cope with a disabled father and an abusive mother. But once again mining his own memories, Truffaut deftly juxtaposes moments of longing, discovery, peril, rebellion, and reprisal to reinforce his contention that children exist in “a state of grace.”