影片改编自同名小说，这个叫Ciske的小男孩的故事和该版本的主题歌Ik voel me zo verdomd alleen（我如此孤独）在荷兰可谓家喻户晓。

Ciske is een jongetje met een grote mond en een klein hart, dat het beste probeert te maken van zijn leven in het Amsterdam van de jaren '30. Zijn vader is een echte schipper en is dus nooit thuis, en z'n moeder is een kreng. Ciske krijgt een aantal tegenslagen te verwerken.

Lovable Amsterdam street urchin, 11 year old Ciske is nevertheless much in need of love as the Dutch 1984 title suggests. He is a scamp with a heart of gold. He causes havoc in the classroom pouring ink over his teacher yet when a polio-crippled boy joins the class Ciske is one of the only children to befriend him and is bullied as a result. His mother works in a bar and Ciske helps out often late into the night - his father is at sea and his mother supplements her income with prostitution. Ciske is also a very angry young man and he smoulders with rage at life's injustices.

É a historia de um solitário garoto de rua, com 11 anos, que não tem amigos e que apenas o chamam de "O Rato".. Na Amsterdã de 1930s, Ciske tem que mudar de escola, depois de ter despejado tinta na cabeça da professora.. Depois da escola, ele ajuda no Bar onde trabalha a mãe.. O amado pai, é pescador e raramente está em casa. A história é contada pelo novo professor, que lhe quer dar uma nova oportunidade...

En el Amsterdam de 1955, Ciske, un chico de 11 años de edad, vive en una barriada. Su madre trabaja en un bar y su padre está fuera de casa. Ciske, pese a su corta edad, se propone combatir las injusticias de la vida, pese a que ello le traerá más de un problema... (FILMAFFINITY)