A group of children survives as best they can in postwar Japan through the black market. When they encounter an expatriate soldier wandering the country, they decide to join him, aiming to reach a special school for war orphans. Shimizu's first independent film after leaving Shochiku allowed him to create a neorealist work that doesn't shy away from the hardships his homeland was facing at the time. This unique road movie, featuring a striking scene in the ruins of Hiroshima, established a line of work with children that would continue for many years and across several films in which young people are the protagonists.

©KOKUSAI HOEI