Marta (Lucie Patikova) was blinded in an accident brought on by her careless and indulgent younger sister. Now in a school for the blind, Marta keeps up her hope that she will one day see again, mainly because her mother - out of good intentions - has led her to believe that the blindness is only temporary. Before long, Marta comes to realize that her condition will last until she dies, and she begins to despair, hating her mother for giving her false hope. Only a dedicated psychologist, Dr. Mos (Oldrich Navratil) seems to have the means of retrieving Marta from her depression.
Acting
Patikova's physicality as newly blind Marta is devastating.
Direction
Jireš frames faces like emotional battlefields.
Director
Jaromil Jireš
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jireš was a leading figure of the Czech New Wave but made this during the post-1968 normalization period, when his earlier experimental style was politically discouraged.
The film's institutional setting reflects real Czechoslovak schools for the blind, which emphasized vocational training over emotional processing—Dr. Mos represents a rare psychological approach.
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