Osudové okamžiky

A look back at old classmates at a high school reunion, discovering how life has fruitlessly slipped through their fingers. And they don't even have a chance to break free from the small-town grip.

Early Days follows the early life of famous Czech writer Alois Jirásek. Jirásek had already developed his own view of the history of the Czech nation while he was at grammar school in Broumov. When he becomes the supply teach in Litomyšl, he has already written his first book and a number of poems. The local dignitaries await the arrival of the young writer in excited anticipation. Jirásek, however, is sickened by the empty patriotism from the depths of his soul and soon becomes disagreeable to the notables. The district sheriff tries to remove Jirásek from the school and drive him out of town. Unable to do this, the sheriff appoints a pro-Austrian headmaster who attempts to sabotage Jirásek. The students stand behind Jirásek , however, and discontent is not only felt in Litomyšl but throughout Bohemia.

The year is 1941 and the German Nazis rule Bohemia with a free hand. Engineer Otakar Racek is an extremely cautious man who tries to avoid problems at all costs. While some of his colleagues are being arrested by the Gestapo, he receives an offer to become the director of a new department. When he refuses to help the wife of an arrested resistance fighter, his wife Vlasta is shaken. However, she loves him, to the point of even resigning herself to the hatred of Otakar's wealthy mother. One day, Vlasta lets her old acquaintance Ondřej Rýdl, who is on the run from the Gestapo, stay at her house for a few days. The wife passes him off to her husband as a distant relative. However, Otakar succumbs to jealousy and, on his mother's advice, hires a private detective to follow Vlasta. However, the detective is also a Gestapo informant and receives a hefty reward for every arrested resistance fighter...