The First Night*

A tragicomedy based on the eponymous short story by Luigi Pirandello, which was first published in 1900. While the original story takes place in Sicily, the plot of this film adaptation is set in a contemporary Czech village. Due to various family interests, the young violinist Aniāka and the widowed, aging gravedigger František are forced into an unwanted marriage by their relatives. We thus follow a story about loneliness, about love beyond the grave, but also about trying not to resent life and learning to move on, even though the loss of our loved ones still hurts.