Maja Velšicová

An unusual children's film set during World War II in Czechoslovakia, this compelling drama unfolds five different segments that present the war through the eyes of three youngsters. The three have a series of adventures which include saving a soldier from being captured by the Germans, helping out the resistance fighters, and meeting up with a young Russian woman trained in guerrilla warfare. As they learn more about life and danger, various circumstances constantly recall the reality of war itself. The title comes from a wounded pigeon under the care of one of the youngsters.

When the young heroine joins a large factory, she has difficulty adapting to the local environment and experiences a series of conflicts before finally joining the work team. This is an exemplary illustration of the thesis that only work truly humanizes a person and helps them find spiritual balance.

Four short stories depicting the private life of Czechoslovak soldiers. In the short story "The Pheasant", the hardened corporal Kony takes revenge on the bullying of the new recruit Lubos. On the way to get a tank repaired, however, a manly friendship is born between the two men. The story Potato depicts a brigade during which, despite the prohibitions of a strict professor, soldiers and students become close at an evening disco. The buns bring to life the problems of military love: Štěpánka prefers Peter to Honza, but pays heavily for her mistake. The film closes with the short story "The Solution", in which a lieutenant from Slovakia has problems with the arrangement of his family life.

A film adaptation of the novelette of the same title written by Dominik Tatarka depicts the life of a young generation of artists that was formed in Slovakia during the war. Anabella, a young and beautiful girl meets a group of artists. She awakens their erotic desires but also pure feelings of love; she becomes the object of their secret fantasies as well as their artistic inspiration. And it seems that the boundaries between reality and fantasy suddenly cease to exist.

Premature motherhood causes serious emotional and psychological problems; the young mother, deceived in her first, still naive love, thinks that she has not yet enjoyed anything and already has to take care of the baby. Even finishing high school becomes a big problem, which requires a lot of self-sacrifice.

Peter and Lena had a daughter, Zuzka, soon after their wedding. Lena graduated from drama school and wanted to act, but there were no vacancies in the theater in the city where they lived, and she was forced to join a traveling troupe. Lena was away from home for months. Peter and Zuzka missed her very much. One day, Peter met Eva and fell in love with her. When Lena learned about this, she returned to the city, never to be separated from her family again.

A balladic story situated in a Slovak mountain region before the 2nd World War. A young man returns to his native village after many years. There he meets Zuna, a mysterious girl of the forest, who opens his eyes to the charming nature to perceive hidden corners of the world and of his own soul.