As the power of the Czechoslovak regime starts to crumble slowly in the mid-eighties, changes are still far away. Ewald, a forty-year-old intellectual, is sent to measure water levels near a fortress. He takes pleasure in nature and the simple rural life, soon makes friends in the village and even eventually meets the commander of the terrifying, heavily- guarded fortress. A strange kind of relationship develops between the two men: the two different characters are linked by a feeling of loneliness and by their need for honesty and mutual respect. Through the friendship Ewald also learns the secret of the fortress: there is nothing to guard. The question is whether he should keep this information to himself or rebel against the absurdity of the situation. wrote the script in 1969, but for years she was only able to make documentaries because she was on the black list after her first feature Wasted Sunday (also dating from 1969).
