Based upon a novel by Jerzy Stefan Stawiński. The story is the odyssey of a little man through Poland from 1930 to 1950. The terrible opportunist desperately tries to play up to the current powers and trends, but always fails and is “one step behind”. In the 1930s, he tries to get involved in an anti-Semitic riot, but is taken for a Jew. He also dreams of wearing an officer’s uniform because this brings prestige and impresses women. He finds one and puts it on, but only in September 1939: he is captured by the invading Nazis as a POW. In the POW camp he pretends to have been heroic, but is taken for a collaborator. When socialism arrives, he eventually seems to have found his place, becoming an overzealous office clerk, and for the first time he manages to conform. But not for long. A widely acclaimed bitter-sweet comedy, where romantic heroism gives way to a critique of opportunism.