Two brothers ,one sister , a family unit who cannot find their place in a society hard on the poor ; the boys live hand to mouth , and dream to fly away to Canada , for them the promised land.

The girl is arrested after a theft in a graveyard ; their brothers go out of their way to get her out of the jam ;the elder sells his motorcycle ,the only thing he owns ,to pay a lawyer ;but justice is hard on the poor ;whereas a rich kid would have effortlessly released on parole , the young magistrate who defends the prisoner does not really care about her and it's almost a travesty of a trial ;she is sent to a reformatory ....

This place is not a caricature ;the nuns who run it are not tyrants and do their best to put their inmates back on the straight and narrow. But what can they do against a girl who dreams to fly away to Canada ,a country which represents the freedom she longs for ?

Some of the scenes are silent , because looks and smiles mean more than words ; Philippe Léotard is ideally cast as the big brother ,his hangdog looks work wonders; ditto for his partners, Albert Dray as the half-wit sibling ,whose final letter speak volumes about the situation of marginalized people ;and Zoe Chauveau as little sis , a bird in a cage who longs for open air.

"l'Ombre des châteaux " ( the shadow of the castles") is the other side of France of the seventies Three people who are beyond the working class' fight because they do not even belong to a class ; they are not even aware of their social condition ; when they help their sibling escape the reform school , one knows from the start that it will lead them nowhere ,Canada is make believe .

In spite of spectacular scenes which were not really necessary (the bikers attacking the car) ,Daniel Duval made a movie which goes straight to the heart .