This late 60s Russian films is set in 1920, just 3 years after the October revolution. Folks had the choice between red and white, revolution and contra revolution. In that torn-apart-time, one man, the comedian Volodya, tries to mediate, not between different ideologies, but social life and art. While others just want to wash away their gloom, he reflects on the everyday sorrows and the role of art in that time of changes.