Synopsis
Italy, 1934. Leaving his rebellious past behind, Mihály (37) marries Erzsi (34), and they sail to Venice as blissful newlyweds. While the couple dives into the places of Italian culture, amidst the Venetian alleyways, Mihály’s forgotten past begins to overshadow the honeymoon. In Ravenna, they run into one of Mihály’s hated past acquaintances, János Szepetneki, who claims that Mihály betrayed their shared youth. He wants to convince Mihály to find their old friend and love, Éva Ulpius. Szepetneki has picked up the scent: he has seen Ervin in in Italy who used to be an important person in Éva’s life. Maybe he knows where Éva could be. Mihály is overrun by memories of his youth. He tells Erzsi the time when he met Éva and her twin brother Tamás back in 1914 in Budapest. Mihály recalls the great emotions or as he calls it, his love for his dear friend, Tamás Ulpius. While World War I is underway outside, the teenage Tamás and Éva Ulpius and 16-year-old Mihály live in the sanctuary of the Ulpius house in Budapest, playing peculiar games: the twins lure Mihály into acting out the great tragedies of cultural history. Meanwhile they develop an intense, mysterious and entangled love triangle. But Tamás longs for something more: he imagines dying as an erotic experience and tries to convince Mihály to commit suicide with him. However, Mihály reveals their secret to Éva, and as a result, he is not welcome in the Ulpius house anymore. Therefore, Mihály never learns what happened with his beloved friends and how Tamás finally died at the age of twenty. Ravenna, 1934. Haunted by the secrets and demons of his past, Mihály leaves Erzsi behind in the middle of their honeymoon. He embarks on a journey through Italy following the traces which might lead to Éva. After the long journey, in Gubbio he finds his old friend, Ervin. He has become a monk because he pledged to turn ascetic when Éva’s father rejected his marriage proposal to her. Following Ervin’s advice, Mihály travels to Rome, where he finally finds Éva. After she tells the story of Tamás’s death, Mihály understands that Tamás was actually in love with Éva and not with him. He asks Éva to help him into the afterlife, just like she did with Tamás. Éva makes a promise to return. The same day Szepetneki’s friend, the beautiful Vannina shows up and forces Mihály to go to a christening. The Italian family welcomes Mihály, and he dives into the great celebration. Waking up next day, he realizes that he didn’t go back to his hotel to meet Éva; moreover, he wasn’t even thinking of his past all night. But how can he continue his life from now on? “While there is life there is always the chance that something might happen,” he admits to himself as he rushes to the train station. His realization is immediately verified: he meets Erzsi on the train heading to Venice. She is willing to consider reuniting with him if he proves that he has successfully left the past behind, and can finally be there for her in the present.