A landmark of the Czech cinema new wave, director Jir Menzels Academy Award Winning debut film sparked worldwide interest in Czech films and directors including Milos Forman (Amadeus).

Set in occupied Czechoslovakia in WWII, protagonist Milos begins his first day as an apprentice train dispatcher with one higher ambition to lose his virginity. His fight for his sexual liberation is matched by his involvement in attempts to sabotage closely observed Nazi ammunition trains, a journey with hilarious, and tragic, consequences.