Popel a hvězdy

A psychological story of a young woman who, after two failed marriages, finds the strength to fight for her independence and lost self-confidence. After Ondrej's death and the disappointment of her second relationship, she returns to Ondrej's parents with her son to start working and living again.

A classical ballad motif about an aging father and his three daughters is quite unusually here set against the backdrop of Czechoslovakia of the 1950s. After having been expropriated, the former landowner Majda seeks refuge with his three daughters whom he had sent to a convent a long time ago. But only the youngest one is able to forgive him and she is willing to take care of him despite the threat of expulsion from the order.

A sociological drama with a detective plot taking place in the period of industry and agriculture collectivization of the 1950s. Peter Lánik, a young lawyer, during a trial finds out that whom he thought to be his father is in fact only his stepfather. Little by little he learns about the tragic life of his parents as well as about the dramatical atmosphere of the forced cooperativization of village farms.