In this character study by Czech director Frantisek Vlacil, a stout middle-aged physician whose marriage has come apart establishes a practice in a small town. Gradually he's drawn into the lives of his patients—a childless couple, a pregnant girl with a stern mother, the son of a duck farmer—and each relationship reveals a bit more about him and the idyllic but insular community.

• Filmové studio Barrandov
• Rudolf Hrušínský
• Věra Galatíková
• Alois Švehlík
• Jana Dítětová
• Marie Logojdová
• Nina Popelíková
• Josef Somr
• Jaroslava Obermaierová