A young Croatian painter Josip Račić in the solitude of a Parisian attic encounters unusual people and falls in love with a cabaret singer. The ambience of the cheap Parisian hotel mixes in the painter's mind with memories of his childhood and youth in the Slavonian plain, all these things finding their expression in his paintings that start to attract the attention of experts...
Matija Remetin is young man who is studying drama in Zagreb just before the outbreak of WW2. He rents the room at Marija Slajner, widow who's three previous tennants had commited suicide. Remetin begins to notice beautiful and mysterious girl on the other side of street and begins calling her Nausikaja.
After writing a book about life after death, a cardiologist experiences a heart attack while jogging, exactly the same thing he wrote about in his book. After that, he meets beautiful and mysterious woman.
A famous actress dying from cancer sets off to the mountains where she witnesses human misery, yet being fascinated by patients' faith in healing via intercessory from Mother of God.
A stray dog tries to find suitable boss in a newly-built city resort.
A young professor of art history is pressed by communist superiors to write a positive review to an amateur scholar. He plays with an old man as well as with a young worker girl until he realizes he has lost everything.
Based on a Anton Chekhov short story, this slight tale has some good moments as the drama of a young boy's journey unfolds. The lad comes from peasant stock, and one day his family decides it would be best for him to go live with his uncle in the city. The only problem is that the city is all the way across the Russian steppes, and at this time in history, that arduous journey could only be undertaken by horse and carriage. Reminiscent of the American pioneer wagon trains heading West, the tale lacks any attacks from hostile forces but is filled with charming vignettes. In one part of the journey, the boy comes across some fishermen along a river, harpooning their catch for the day. In another segment, he is entertained when some folk dancers do a lively show. But in general, it is too long and unmomentous a journey to hold attention well for nearly two hours.
One day, Happiness and Sorrow come to town. Happiness leaves her magical cloak in the local inn, saying that it fulfills every wish to those who wear it. However, Sorrow knows that Happiness doesn't come alone, but brings worries with herself, too. The magical cloak changes its owner and fulfills the most unusual wishes of timid professor of violin, old night guard, naive student and blonde girl. When all their wishes are fulfilled, they find out that they did not achieve happiness.
Through several entangled stories, province atmosphere is shown, in which new ideas are hard to penetrate. Parallel with the seventh anniversary of peasant's cooperative farm, activity of a priest, who wants to restore the iconostasis, is followed. Local photographer intrigues - in small town in which the villagers want to become football champions.
A bus traveling from Belgrade to Zagreb is involved in a tragic accident when a reckless driver causes a catastrophic collision on a rainy night, leading to the tragic deaths of several passengers.
A group of partisans is under siege, surrounded by strong German forces. Some of them remember the events that preceded the siege. This is an omnibus of three intertwined stories.