In the late 1930s, Latvia is on the brink of war. Surgeon Duburs’ flowering garden seems to be swathed in an intoxicating cloud. It brings together several characters, like flautist Ieva and illusionist Toms. They are destined to take a liking to each other and their fragile passion blossoms. Meanwhile, Duburs makes no secret of his feelings for the young musician, offering her flowers and his garden. As this love triangle grows ever more tense, a fog slowly descends on the treetops – a fateful thunderstorm is imminent. Soon they will all be expelled from the Garden of Eden. 

The screening of the restored version of this film commemorates the 80th birthday of Dāvis Sīmanis Sr., the cinematographer and co-writer of this painterly and symbolic drama. Sīmanis and director Arvīds Krievs integrate chronicles into the film’s weathered interior compositions, and the exteriors of misty meadows and the evening sun. The main roles are played by flautist Dita Krenberga and director Alvis Hermanis, while the musical score was created by Mārtiņš Brauns (1951–2021). Significantly, the film’s visual symbols carry over into Sīmanis Sr.’s son’s, director Dāvis Sīmanis’ feature-length film Exiled (2016).

The film was restored during the second round of the ERDF project “Digitization of the Cultural Heritage Content”.