Slovakian villagers towards the end of WW II are despairing as German troops fall back to their village.
A girl is transformed into a maple tree by her impulsive and angry mother. Three poor wandering musicians come by the tree and create instruments from it. Walking around the country instead of happiness they bring death everywhere with their cursed instruments. However they cannot get rid of them, unless they bury the wooden instruments at the place of the tree. The three are anything but harmonious, each taking in their disputes various stances.
This is a reconstruction of the daily life of an ordinary family. With kindness and gentle humour, the film reveals the relationship between the older and the younger generation. The original concept of a short film study with authentic characters of the Ravager family grew into a feature-length picture on the border between a documentary and fiction. It was made as an improvisation without a previously approved screenplay in the course of only twenty days.
