Synopsis
Prague 1947 - a time of sensuality, extravagance, wit and great expectations.Ivan Heinz, a good-looking dandy with a provocative sense of humour has just turned 19. Running away from home he devotes himself to the celebration of freedom, revolutionary politics and artistic aspiration. He lives for the moment, discards the past, writes poetry and blindly immerses himself in his own world of idealistic politics, surrealism and personal discovery.
And life is good, when savoured through a haze of hedonism and in the company of a fascinating, stylish woman who awakes his powerful sexuality. Ivan throws himself whole-heartedly into a destructive romance with independent, bisexual Jana. The two lovers live an eventful life together, full of inspiring erotic games, arguments, and explosive laughter, against a backdrop of 1940s dance music and dramatic political change. The new Communist regime begins however to reveal its repressive side. Infatuated pleasure seekers, blind to the looming danger, Ivan and Jana are like light-footed dancers balancing on a razor blade. Thumbing their noses at work, they support themselves through petty theft. Weaving fantastic visions of their future, they plan their escape to Paris. But confrontation with the very regime that Ivan espouses comes harshly and unexpectedly. It is Ivan's tenacity and single-mindedness that allow him to survive the traumatic events that he has stumbled into. His redemption is as profound as it is unexpected.
