Second half of the 19th century. In a small town in South Bohemia, fifth-former Jan Ratkin is living through the confusions of first love together with his classmates.
It happened during the reign of King Vladislav Jagiellon: the rebellious knight Dalibor is sentenced to death. An attempt to free him fails. This underappreciated transcription of Smetana's opera surprises with its fresh originality, even compared to much later attempts to translate musical-dramatic works to the screen.
The film, in individual episodes, captures the fate of Bedřich Smetana from 1856 until the end of his life, from his young years until the moment when, exhausted by human and artistic hardship, he sees the fulfillment of his great dream, the opening of the National Theatre.
