This satirical tragicomedy – based on a short story by Peter Karvaš from his collection The Devil Don't Sleep (1954) – denounces the ever-present manifestations of careerism, dilettantism, bureaucratism and hypocrisy. Peter Solan's film tells the story of the career rise of an unassuming, aspiring triangle player Barnabáš Kos, who unexpectedly becomes the director of a symphony orchestra, mainly because of his reliability and non-conflict. The modest musician, who has never played "first violin", resists at first, but eventually succumbs to the seductions of the position. Suddenly he believes in his predestination and takes over the music with a triangle. The culmination of his infatuation becomes a concerto for the triangle and orchestra. At first, Kos enjoys the protection of his superiors and the flattery of his subordinates, but gradually, events in the orchestra take on a Kafkaesque absurdity.

Martin Kaňuch