Set in Prague in 1953, this suspenseful crime drama follows honest police captain Hakl (Trojan) and his investigation of a seemingly mundane robbery at a goldsmith’s shop. In a fraught political climate, this incident is seized on by the Communist authorities, who require a smokescreen for their own, far grander, deception.
On the orders of State Security, Hakl’s investigation is taken over by Major Zenke (Sebastian Koch, The Lives of Others), an East German specialist, who has been told to “prove” that the gold was stolen by the Jewish community to finance Zionist terrorism. But the experienced Hakl’s instincts puts him on the path of an altogether different story. Can one just man stand up to the forces of an increasingly oppressive state? The shadow of the past looms over all involved, and this can make a culprit of a victim and a hero of a culprit. Somber and atmospheric, this is a moving and compelling study of the Stalinist era.

故事发生在1983年，新来的女教师达玛莉刚到一所郊区小学报到便让校园陷入混乱。达玛莉不仅恣意羞辱学生，还威胁学生家长。以其身份和职业，满足自己的需求。在不断予取予求下，甚至引发了一件轰动校园的学生自杀事件。校长决定联合家长会对抗嚣张的达玛莉，但是达玛莉有着强大的政治势力和社交手腕，究竟家长会为了孩子、冒着风险起身制伏达玛莉，还是甘愿沉默，任达玛莉继续为所欲为？

该片改编自作家杰西·科辛斯基撰写的同名处女作，影片以一个小男孩的视角描写了东欧“二战”期间的悲惨景象。
小男孩的父母把他送到乡下避难，但与他失去了联系。奶奶死后，男孩开始在各个村庄之间流浪。因为他的黑头发、黑眼睛，村民认为他是吉卜赛人，会给村子带来不祥，就以各种方式欺负和折磨他。他曾被埋在土里，只有脑袋露在外面，乌鸦将他啄得伤痕累累，也曾被丢进粪坑，只因没拿好圣经。他目睹人们在暴力、堕落和无知的牢固链环中彼此吞噬。当他躺在铁轨上，让火车从自己身上呼啸而过，他体会到的只有饱受凌辱却依然幸存的快乐。