A CHILDHOOD

As summer drags by, 13-year-old Jimmy, forced by circumstance to become an adult too soon, runs up against the limits of his small hometown and his turbulent life, caught between a mother on the slide and a stepfather who keeps him down.

Philippe Claudel returned to his hometown to direct this summer tale of a tough childhood at the hands of irresponsible adults. A social-realist drama that boasts affecting performances from both a nonprofessional cast and trained actors such as Pierre Deladonchamps (Stranger by the Lake).