A French Lesson (1978) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

1978 · 80 mins · Russian

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Directed by

Yevgeni Tashkov

Starring

Valentina Talyzina, Yelena Kuzmina, Mikhail Kabanov, Vadim Yakovlev, Boris Novikov, Klavdiya Kozlyonkova

The story unfolds in a small post‑World II village where a widowed mother struggles to raise three children after her husband was lost in the war. Their bright 11‑year‑old son becomes the primary help at home and, since the village only has a primary school, is sent to a school 50 km away, staying with his mother’s friend and her two children. He receives food from his mother only every three weeks, cooks separately, earns extra meals by playing a ‘money’ game, and endures bullying from older boys.