Capricious Summer 1968

At an abandoned swimming resort, three middle‑aged men—Rudolf Hrušínský as Antonín Důra, Vlastimil Brodský as Major Hugo, and František Řehák as Canon Roch—trade warm, sharp banter about aging, duty, and the elusive idea of happiness while the town’s quiet heat lingers in the air.

The arrival of Arnoštek, a touring tightrope walker played by Jiří Menzel, brings a spark of risk and spectacle. He invites the trio to witness his circus act, a moment that briefly lifts their routine of sun, drink, and old grievances. That night, they attend the performance in the town square, and there they meet Anna, the assistant who accompanies Arnoštek to the center of attention Jana Preissová as Anna.

After the show, Antonín helps Anna from the river’s edge, and the two men carry a charged tension into their private space. In the hush of predawn, Antonín seduces Anna, and they share a night together that ends with discovery: Kateřina, Antonín’s wife, Míla Myslíková as Katerina Durová, finds them and leaves in a storm of betrayal. The romantic triangle shifts as Kateřina moves in with Arnoštek, drawn by a mix of hurt, jealousy, and longing.

That same night, Canon Roch dines with Anna in her caravan, while Antonín stands outside, watching the scene unfold. The village’s male pride erupts into violence when a mob of men drags Roch from the caravan and assaults him. By morning, Roch bears a torn ear, and Hugo and Antonín come together to tend to him, stitching the wound with practiced calm.

On the third night, Hugo and Antonín return to the circus, hoping to glimpse Anna again. An old man warns Arnoštek, and the tightrope walker loses his balance, tumbling from the wire and injuring himself. Anna responds with a poised, elegant dance that captivates the crowd and unsettles the men in ways the earlier spectacle did not. Later, Hugo shares a meal with Anna again, and the intensity between them grows; he becomes possessive, forcing himself on her and then drifting into sleep with Anna resting in his lap.

Meanwhile, Arnoštek, unsettled by Kateřina’s advances and the shifting loyalties around him, sends Kateřina back to Antonín. The reconciliation between Antonín and Kateřina quietly takes shape, a fragile agreement born of shared history and the ambiguity of desire under the hot sun.

By the next morning, Arnoštek searches for Anna on the outskirts of town and strikes Hugo with a baton, a blunt gesture that underscores how the men’s lives have become entangled with Anna’s presence and with each other. The three men eventually return to the resort, watching as Arnoštek’s caravan edges out of town, signaling the end of another restless chapter. They slide back into the long, languid days of summer, their days shaded by the memories of what transpired and the uncertain futures that await them beneath the same indifferent sky.