Can you imagine what it’s like to hear 1,865 people applauding in this theatre?

This melancholically humanist music drama plays the strings of sacrifices, regrets, memories, commitments, loyalties. Sound is enormously important in every scene of this humbly atmospheric tender film. Even the almost invisible bells of Bratislava and Vienna are conducted as significant authentic characters in this philosophical cinematic symphony by trained documentarist Juraj Lehotsky (prized in Directors’ Fortnight of Cannes for “Blind Loves” and at Karlovy Vary for “Miracle”), for which the “Corpus Christi” superstar, Bartosz Belenia, learned to play the cello from scratch in his first mesmerising international performance.

Gifted musician Matúš Vrba auditions for the first cello in the Slovak Chamber Orchestra. No one has heard of him in Bratislava for the past five years. He left the prestigious course of the Berlin Philharmonic to spend the final days of his dying mother with her. A professional cellist of extraordinary talent would be able to arrange catchy compositions and achieve great acclaim, but grief made him to abandon his career for the responsibility to look after his stepbrother Dávid. Downgraded to invisible performances, Matúš plays Beethoven for tourists as a symphony under a plastic cover on the streets of Vienna where nobody recognises him.

Accidentally, selfish violinist schoolmate Albert reappears in Matúš’ low unhappy life after eight years, with a tempting proposal to play concerts for high society and other lucrative cynical gigs. The rapidly growing fame unlocks more doors to opportunities, but demands harder choices and painful sacrifices.

Edvinas Pukšta