This movie does not take sides .Fighting for democracy or communism,it's all the same:children are poor unfortunate victims of man's Madness.First line:"dad ,what's peace? -Someday,you will find out I've been living in war for 30 years . Last line:What's peace?Boy:mom,is there a storm brewing? Mom:no more storm over Vietnam;only the sound of planes .Dad's gone to fight against imperialism and mom stays at home with her two children;soon,she dies of cancer and asks her boy to care care of his little sister.This is the beginning of an odyssey which recalls sometimes that of the two tragic heroes of the Japanese masterpiece " grave of the fireflies". The brat becomes a paper boy,a shoe-shiner and tries to stay a child in a world gone mad.Some adults are selfish and ruthless ,some others -an European nurse notably-lends a helpful hand .It seems ,at the end of the movie,that the father has finally understood that a child's smile is worth all the ideological struggles in the world.Raoul Coutard was a famous N.V. cameraman ;he directed only a handful of movies:this one is certainly the most interesting.