Leopold and Franz are coach drivers and best friends. Their relationship gets strained when Franz decides to modernize by buying a taxi cab. Leopold, grumpy keeper of tradition, is not pleased.
After having lost her mother Magdalena was brought up on strict boarding school disciplines. When returning to her father, she is looked after by an educator who lacks the ability to guide the longing for love of an adolescent girl.
In 1957, Peter Kubelka was hired to make a short commercial for Schwechater beer. The beer company undoubtedly thought they were commissioning a film that would help them sell their beers; Kubelka had other ideas.
1958: during the Russian campaign, a military priest is called upon to assist Private Baranowski, who has been sentenced to death for desertion, on his last night.
Jean-Paul is a Frenchman who yearns to live in communist Czechoslovakia. His wish is granted when, mistaken as a masseur of a French boating team, he manages to elude the democratic authorities long enough to scamper over the Czech border.