Here are two more films that focus on children (or a child) and their
problems.  "The Search" (1948) tells the moving story of a Czech boy who
finds himself displaced in the aftermath of WWII.  The movie (directed by
Fred Zinnemann) is done in semi-documentary style and all the children in
the film except for the boy who stars (Ivan Jandl who won a special Oscar
for this movie, his only movie, as it turned out) are real life displaced
children.  "The Search" was entirely shot on location in Germany and is
not typical Hollywood stuff at all.  The British film "Whistle Down the
Wind" (1961) tells the story of three children who find a bearded man
(a fugitive murderer, but the kids don't know that) in a barn and
think he's Jesus.  The children have a neglectful dad and no mom.  I highly
recommend both these movies.
 
Mary Kalfatovic, Washington, D.C.