A Jewish goldsmith Mordche arrives in besieged medieval Trnava with his wife and granddaughter Golda just as the king’s captain Zenas demands new volunteers to defend the city against Ottoman invasion. The burgomaster’s son, a young painter, falls profoundly in love with Golda and paints her portrait imbued with a magical power to weep and cry for help when Zenas’s persecution of Mordche’s family reaches Golda.

Young provincial actor Perda, long confined to minor roles, is cast unexpectedly as the lead in a vacuous new play by an ambitious writer. Despite a lackluster script and an audience that largely abandons the performance at intermission, the production proceeds to secure funding. Frustrated by being told to blend in, Perda ultimately decides to assert himself boldly on stage.

A television adaptation of a short story by Polish author K. Brandýs. An elderly couple are preparing to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary, to which their children and families are also due. The two elders' wait is filled with reminiscences, revealing both private and socio-political problems. Touchingly nostalgic moments alternate with explosive, nervous scenes, caused by the disappointment that the children did not come. None of the three children has remembered their grandparents. However, the wisdom of old age speaks: if loneliness has remained their lot, they need to come to terms with it as quickly as possible.