Éva Tímár

A generous and stubborn elderly boxing coach gets along with everyone except his own son. They're reunited after the death of the old man's wife and forced to face old grievances.

On the eve of departure for the summer holiday with his wife Vera, Kristóf unexpectedly discovers black mold on the wall behind their closet. Overwhelmed with the situation and convinced it is caused by a water leak somewhere in the building, he begins knocking on his neighbours' doors in search of its origin. What seems like a simple maintenance issue soon spirals into a tragicomic housing revolution, forcing Kristóf to confront not only a crumbling apartment block but also the deeper cracks running through contemporary Hungarian society.

Barbara is a forty-year-old woman of Polish origin living in Budapest. She is a biologist, a wife and a mother. The death of her woman friend opens her eyes to the fact that she is lonely, unable to find her place.

In 1956, István Köves defects after the revolution is crushed; his family stays behind. Seven years later, the older son is preparing for medical school, while the younger, Dini, is out chasing girls and rebelling. He is in love with Magda Szukics and idolizes Pierre, the school’s rebel. American rock and roll blares at the parties.

The celebrated actor considers his wife a nitwits actress of a mediocre talent. But an influential playwright, a friend of theirs, has written a play with the main role designed for her, Kati, particularly. Its title is "The Most Intelligent Woman in the World". On the day of the first night performance Kati recalls their past, the times she had together with her husband.

Csutak is just a pain in the neck, the little boy is even excluded from play by his mates. Vacation is spent lonely until one day he sneaks the woman haulier's old, shabby horse, a creature that would be better off in a slaughterhouse, out with himself. Possessing the animal is the key to the children's gang. They all try to find a place for the horse.

Autumn 1944. Yellow star, ghettos, Arrow Cross terror. The inhabitants of Hungary's capital, Budapest, await the tragic fulfilment of their fate with helpless resignation. However, above one of the city's villas, once a week in the evening the stars of hope sparkle, if only for a few minutes. This short time gives fresh heart to those hiding here and kindles hope in their tortured souls to live for another day. This mysterious power is none other than a beautiful song that can be heard at such times from the villa's tower room.

One summer morning, Anna tells her husband, the writer, that she is in a blessed state, but that she doubts whether she should have a fourth child in addition to the three she already has, because "having children here is, to put it mildly, illogical". This decision is explored in the film as events of the present are interspersed with memories of the past.