The lives of a motherless young man, who's just starting to find interest in women, and his physically abused, poverty stricken friend, are mixed with more or less innocent childhood experiences and challenges most their age experience.
Truffaut is one of the all-time greats. The 400 Blows is an obvious one, but then Small Change I love. All his movies have a distinctive tone. And the way he works with actors, especially child actors, is really something.