This film is a tribute to a humiliated and destroyed nation. "As Long as the Grass Grows" is an alternative, ancient and humble creation story, where man is not the crown of the creation, but the weakest of all creatures. The film takes us back to the beginning of time, where Old Man begins to create the world out of a handful of mud. Everything he creates is new and nameless, and affects the rest of the world. Even feelings and desires are unknown and when they emerge, the world becomes more and more complicated.
This epic story takes place between 1820 and 1860 during the Habsburg Monarchy, and portrays the life one of the greatest Hungarian aristocrats - Count Széchenyi - who was born with extra-ordinary mental and spiritual talents. In the years following the fall of Napoleon the young count Széchenyi irresponsibly seduces his brother's wife, and the consequent scandal ruins his career as an army officer. After the sudden death of his humiliated lover Count Széchenyi drastically changes his character from that of a shallow young man into a responsible nobleman seeking to conquer his fate by creating great achievements in his remaining life.