Karel Kachyňa has managed to credibly portray the glum fifties even during the times of the Normalization, without resorting to considerable idealizations. Even though he had to abandon any of the political context whatsoever, he captured the often bizarre realities of these times past. For this movie he chose the picturesque Žižkov (worker's part of Prague, his film Lásky mezi kapkami deště also takes place there), which he watching through the eyes of an adolescent boy searching for his first love (the actor portraying him, Radim Špaček, later went on to become a director himself). In the story we meet up with a host of peculiar figures, eccentrics or just people, who weren't able to cope with the sudden societal changes they had to face in the years passed. The director's view however is kind-hearted, not laughing at either life's losers or the unfortunate and mentally handicapped. (official distributor's text)