Infused with the atmosphere of a provincial town in Hungary in the year 1906, this film considers the ensuing conflict when changes come to that part of the world, and the tendency of the town's established intellectuals to cling to the high culture of a bygone era. The story focuses on the experiences of a young, blond Jewish teen, growing up in a family of intellectuals. Signs of the changes to come are the arrival in town of a committed anarchist, and nearly simultaneously, the screening of the first motion pictures to be shown there.
~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide