All the copies of this film were reportedly destroyed by the Nazis but one during the WW2 occupation .
By a strange irony of fate ,it depicts life in occupied Belgium circa 1918;and it is an offbeat work;it does not display any patriotism (unless we count the part of the son ,a prisoner who escapes and joins the resistance fighters).
But the Nazis were perhaps cross because the children ape their military drill ;and the A33,the secret formula stronger than bombs and canons is none other than that of some kind of flypaper ;showing the Kommantur trying to steal this is not very flattering.
Anyway ,the directors puts the people from his land in a slightly less heroic light than we've been used to seeing them (or other people from Europa)in propaganda movies.Ersatz (the soap) and black market are not passed over in silence ;and the travelers pushing the train is not exactly what we call passive resistance .
With the exception of Pauline Carton,all the cast is unknown in France.
