L'École buissonnière (2017)
Directed by Nicolas Vanier

Film Synopsis

For a parentless little boy living in Paris in 1930 life appears to offer few prospects.  But just when Paul appears destined for a life of unremitting misery Fate intervenes and he is catapulted from his grim orphanage into the splendorous depths of the French countryside.  On a private estate in Sologne, he is welcomed into the modest home of Célestine and her husband Borel, the latter of whom is employed as a gamekeeper for a wealthy aristocratic landowner.  It isn't long before Paul has fallen in love with the region, which brims over with mystery and marvels, a veritable paradise compared with the dreary hellhole in Paris where he grew up.

The Count de la Fresnaye, Borel's employer, has his own interest in Paul.  An elderly widower, he lives alone in his old manor house, a virtual recluse.  He has no grievance against poachers, but Borel hunts them relentlessly, none more so than Totoche, the most cunning of them all.  In meeting Totoche, Paul finds a kindred spirit, and it is through him, the wiliest of poachers, that the little boy will fully appreciate the beauties of the natural world.  It is an education that will last a lifetime.  What Paul doesn't yet know is that his arrival in this miraculous place is no accident.  A dark secret hangs over the de la Fresnaye family and soon it will be time for Paul to discover who he really is...