导演其实在开篇的旁白里就已经说出了故事的结局，电影是一出悲剧。但却是以喜剧的形式讲述的。
三名孤儿，安德列、尤里克与玛尔塔。其实都是成年人，但他们的行为却如孩子般天真。三人住在一所战争中被炸毁的教堂里。有趣的是，这所教堂竟然还有个房东，他也是个孤儿。胖胖的，可爱的老头， 贪吃、爱玩，喜欢弹钢琴。安德列与尤里克本是好友，但自从犹太女孩玛尔塔到来之后，他们的关系变得异常微妙。尤里克无缘由地被抓进监狱。一年出狱后，发现已经是物是人非。他们的将来会何去何从呢？
片中的鸟儿，是指人死后灵魂的象征物；愚人，也可以说是“傻瓜”，是指那些在战争中失去理智的疯子或者被别人称为是有理性的那些人。
剧中经常出现不合常理、超现实的人物、场景。

这部堪称捷克电影史的超级钜作，在捷克影史百大电影票选时，被推为影史第一佳片。故事描述中古世纪两大世族的恩怨情愁，内容涉及战乱、盗匪、乱伦、仇杀、灭门等错综复杂的情节。乱世中的英豪如何在家族传承和效忠国王间做选择？乱世儿女刻骨铭心的爱情是否终究被埋葬在滚滚尘土中？这部融合浪漫、动作、奇情、长达近三小时的中古史诗钜片，导演企图捕捉那个已逝去的年代之狂野和激情。视觉效果突出唯美，影片强而有力令人震撼。

When a comet passes the earth very closely, it pulls a small part of North Africa with it. Carried along is a bunch of people. Among them Angelika, who just escaped from a ruthless weapon dealer's ship, and her two brothers, who are searching her. Then there's a group of natives, who plan a rebellion against the French colonists. All these conflicts become secondary when the people finally realize that they are doomed to live together on an alien planet. However this time of peace and world-happiness won't last for long...

这部作品最特别的在于整个故事是以赫拉巴尔的童年经历为蓝本，他小时候家里有座自营的啤酒厂，母亲迷人大方，父亲勤劳内向，平和的家庭却因为叔叔宛如不速之客的介入，而起了波澜 ...... 一部充满诗意、想像、幽默与捷克啤酒金黄魅力的杰出喜剧。
伊利曼佐一向被公认为是最擅长改编捷 克文豪拉拔尔作品的导演，包括【严密监视的列车】、【失翼灵雀】等，两人一共合作了五部作品。拉拔尔擅以幽默俚俗的语调来呈现人民的性格，融政治历史**讽喻于其中。

After The Assistant, The Southern Mail is the second novel of Ladislav Ballek to be adapted to the movie screen. It is setin a fictitious border town in the south of Slovakia shortly after WWII, when the new state borders were just drawn on the maps. The recollections of a forty-year-old author about.his childhood take us backto the 1940s. We see the un-certain times, the conflicts, and the colourful characters of the multi-cultural region of southern Slovakia through the wondering eyes of a five-year-old boy.

Eduard and Charlotte live an isolated and idyllic life together. But soon Eduard feels that something is missing and he invites his friend Otto to come stay. Charlotte, meanwhile, decides that her foster daughter Ottilie should come live with them. Complex and passionate relationships between the four people begin. Based on Goethe's novel of the same title.

在还没有《星际大战》、电脑特效也尚未当道时，卡雷尔兹曼凭借着对影像语言的精准掌控，手工创造出真实与奇幻交织的画面。令人惊叹的视觉效果，让他被誉为最具想象力的「影像魔法师」，连提姆波顿、泰瑞吉兰和山村浩二都五体投地，本片将带领你一窥魔法背后的秘技，看他如何化不可能为可能。