A cruel depiction of the passage from childhood to adolescence.

The heroes are young boys ,trained as jockeys in a horse farm . The trainers are actually human wrecks : Simon,a former jockey lives in the past , telling a not-so-glorious career which leaves him a frustrated man ;Victor a crude brute , who mistreats his novices ,but in fact a man longing to be loved .A friendship between two of the boys,René and Josito ,arises from this depressing atmosphere ;abetted by the boss' wife ,the only sympathetic adult character,they decorate their room , make it friendlier.But the other boys are not prepared to accept such a beautiful camaraderie ,and they sneer at them..—dbdumonteil