How the World Loses Poets

The couturier Šafránková makes dresses for most of girls and women in the city. Her only son, 18 year old grammar school student Štěpán has thus a chance to evaluate their charm secretly through the keyhole. He loves platonically his former schoolmate Marcela called the Blueberry. After her dress try-out Štěpán always switches off the safety fuse and so he is "obliged" to walk the girl down on the dark staircase. Štěpán is talented for rhyming and he finds verses for any situation. His friend and schoolmate from the last year of the grammar school, Marek, called Kendy suggests to produce non-professionally an experimental version of Tyl's theatre play called The Wood Nymph aka The Journey to America. Štěpán writes in the rhymes, Kendy makes music to it all, and they can say good bye to their school and city in an unforgettable way. Štěpán refuses this idea until he realises he can cast the Blueberry in the main part of Terezka. The Blueberry was just not admitted to the conservatory. The butcher Červíček, an experienced amateur theatre takes up the direction. Štěpán has a serious rival in love. The publicity officer Nádeníček is older, more experienced, and he is well off. Štěpán and Kendy visit a wine company which could financially support their theatre play. Štěpán makes skilfully luxuriant amendments to the boring report prepared by Nádeníček. But the secretary Blueberry who has to retype the text is not exited. Both students work intensively and they hire actors continuously. Štěpán visits the Blueberry who has a cold. Near her bed he starts making love rhymes, and the girl records them secretly. Nearly the half of the city is rehearsing the theatre play. The director gave a role even to the unpleasant Nádeníček. Even a TV crew comes to shoot a section about the theatre performance. It was arranged by the editor of the local newspapers, who is father of the juicy schoolmate Hrdličková, who makes in vain advances to Štěpán. The TV director Pergl is quite embarrassed by the adaptation of the classical play, but Kendy and Štěpán explain promptly on the camera their personal conception. Štěpán is hopeful about his first making love. The Blueberry told him that her parents had left and she would be the whole night at home alone. Štěpán says to his mother that the rehearsals will be also at night and after a fresh bath he rings at the Blueberry's door. The girl lets him listen the recording of his own verses. After the successful night the young man recaps: "Poets use to have difficult beginnings and ends. However the meantime is joyful and fruitful. I am at the end. This is the way the world looses poets."