Vladimír Petruška

Historical reconstruction of the events of the anti-fascist struggle in Slovakia in 1943 and 1944.

The life on the poor Slovak hills, the lazy hills, where agriculture is at a primitive stage and where the shelves give a small harvest. Meanwhile, socialist industrialization is reaching an amazing boom in the valleys. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problem of small farmers on poor farms and the lack of labor in ever-growing industrial enterprises. The film, based on the fate of Matěj Rendek, who returns to Slovakia after 18 years from America, and on the fate of his family, who have toiled for years on poor fields and slaved for a rich farmer, shows how this problem must be solved: an agricultural cooperative is established on the lazy hills, which, with the help of machines, can handle agricultural work better and with a significantly smaller number of laborers, and most of the lazy villagers leave to work at a large sawmill.

After five years of hard work in America Juraj Hordubal (Anatoliy Kuznetsov) returns back home. He is looking forward to his wife Polana (Libuse Geprtová) and his little daughter Hafie. The family and the village welcome him with hesitation. Everybody believed that Juraj died in America because Polana stopped receiving money from him already two years ago. Polana's farm was prospering first of all thanks to the young stable boy Stepán (Sándor Oszter). Men in the pub first indicate and then say to Juraj directly that Polana has been unfaithful to him with Stepán.

In Slovakia, they often and gladly honored those soldiers who refused to serve the fascist regime and stood against it. Lieutenant Kukorelli also rejected the tempting career of a pilot, instead helping the resistance fighters and later participating in the Slovak National Uprising.

Little Jerguš's father was killed by gendarmes. To help his mother, the boy is hired as a laborer, then goes to the factory, to the city, but, unable to withstand the cruel exploitation, hoping to become free and independent, returns to the mountains, where his father once fought for the good of the people.

This dramatic story is situated in the town of Trnava of the 18th century. Painter Peter paints an altar-piece of the Martyrdom of St. Juliet and his model is a young girl. This is much disliked by the clergy who unjustly accuse the girl of witchcraft. She is saved from being burnt at a stake by the students of the Trnava University.

In the dead of night, a few hours after Mozart's death, the usual suspects are summoned to Mozart's room by Count Pergen, head of the secret police, who considered Mozart a potential revolutionary. Over the corpse, he interrogates them, trying to discover the true cause and significance of Mozart's demise.