Shortly after the beginning of World War 2 a young idealist doctor is employed in a psychiatric hospital, where his notions of proper care for the patients are challenged by staff and the German occupation.
Three-part film centered around a film being made by a group of young directors. In the first a working-class girl finishes school and has her first love affair, which ends badly. In the second a provincial boy with dreams of life in the theater has an affair with his boss' wife. They meet during the film's screen tests.
Zofia is an elderly woman living in an retirement home. Separate from the rest, she talks seldom and then only about visiting her daughter's family for Christmas. When she comes to her daughter's home unannounced, her stay is spoiled by the damage to her son-in-law doctorate bookmarks which she removed unknowingly during dusting. She then spends Christmas in an empty restaurant, surrounded by waiters and musicians waiting to be tipped.
