L'Apprenti (2008)
Directed by Samuel Collardey

Film Synopsis

Mathieu is 15 and is coping as well as he might with the upsets of adolescence.  He lives with his mother and misses the father who has become a stranger to him.  Whilst studying at an agricultural college, he gets hand-on experience of farming as a trainee at a small dairy farm run by Paul, who has becomes a replacement father to him.  At first, Mathieu finds it difficult to meet the demands of the classroom and the farmyard.  He misses his father badly, and this aggravates the feelings of alienation that all teenagers of his age are prone to.  After a painful Christmas, the adult Mathieu finally begins to surface, helped by the boy's developing relationship with Paul.  By the end of the school year, Mathieu finds he has grown considerably, but greater challenges lie ahead for him...