Little Boy Lost

In wartime Paris, American war correspondent Bill Wainwright falls in love with French singer Lisa Garret. They marry and build a home together while the city braces for looming conflict. Bill's reports keep him busy, but his family remains his anchor as war edges closer.

Bill is assigned to cover the Battle of Dunkirk, documenting the chaos of evacuations and the fog of war. The frontline reshapes his sense of duty as he wonders what war will mean for his family back home. After the evacuation and the French surrender, he cannot return to Paris while the city falls under occupation.

Amid the turmoil, Bill learns his wife has been murdered by the Nazis for participating in the Resistance. His young son Jean goes missing during a bombing raid, leaving him with renewed grief and a painful missing piece. The double blow anchors his later determination to search for his son after the fighting ends.

The film uses a flashback narrated by Bill to reveal his earlier life, marriage, and the losses that shaped him. This retrospective sets the emotional stakes for his postwar quest to reconnect with family.

With the fighting over, Bill returns to Paris a grieving widower determined to locate his missing son. He clings to memories of Lisa as he moves forward, hoping for some closure. The city still bears scars, but his resolve remains intact.

A friend tells him Jean might be living in an orphanage on the outskirts of Paris. Bill travels there hoping for a clue, driven by a fragile hope that his son might be alive. The possibility of reunion injects a cautious optimism into his weary heart.

Inside the orphanage, Bill meets Jean, a sad boy who bears a striking resemblance to Lisa. The connection stirs a flood of emotion as Bill contemplates the possibility that this boy could be his son. He begins to test the waters of paternity while guarding against premature certainty.

To confirm, Bill puts the boy through a quiet test designed to reveal his true identity. Jean forms a bond with Bill but ultimately fails the test, revealing that much of the information surrounding him may have been shaped by others. Bill's certainty wavers as he wrestles with who the boy truly is.

Confronting the Mother Superior, Bill learns she helped the boy pass the test to place orphans in good homes. The nun explains her actions were driven by compassion but ethical boundaries were crossed. The revelation adds moral complexity to Bill's search for truth.

Bill's grief over Lisa's death resurfaces when a close friend urges him to confront the past rather than run from it. He begins to accept that living with loss means allowing himself to love again and to care for a child he may not be certain is his. This turn gives him the strength to decide how to proceed with Jean.

During his search for meaning, Bill spots a stuffed toy identical to the one he had won for Lisa, named Binky. He buys the toy and has it sent to the orphanage to create a tangible link to the past. The small token becomes a symbol that may unlock Jean's true identity.

Bill returns to the orphanage with the toy, hoping to provoke a genuine emotional response from Jean. Jean sees the dog and calls it Binky, revealing a deep memory tied to Bill and Lisa. With this confession, Bill realizes Jean is his son and commits to loving him, even if the path ahead remains uncertain.