Czech Film Center

Synopsis

Just as the snow has begun to fall, a horseman arrives at the courtyard of an eremitic monastery. He reads a royal decree abolishing all monastic orders in all of Austria-Hungary. Prior to that, an ill man was found one day at the gate to the hermitage. As he has no name, they call him Cyprian. Cyprian’s wretched and painful past has left its mark on him by paralyzing his body and soul, making it impossible for him to live a normal life. Looking for meaning in things becomes his only purpose in life, and the hope that he will one day find it is all he has left. Only in the monastery does Cyprian first see the value of love, goodness and compassion. As a demonstration of humility and sacrifice, he vows to remain silent until the end of his life. A component of Cyprian’s path to self-forgiveness also comprises images of the era: a peasant in the vineyards, a murderer sewn up in a donkey’s coat, divine manifestations and apparitions. And then, just when Cyprian seems to have finally found his place and reconciliation, the horseman appears to say that the king has abolished his lifestyle, the only way of life he is capable of. He dons a pair of wings and climbs the hill to subject himself to a trial by ordeal. If he crashes down, he is damned, if he soars, God has forgiven him...