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Based on a story by Anton Chekhov, this drama is reportedly a relentless exploration of the bottomless capacity of human beings to commit evil acts, as seen by a little boy. Whatever else it may be, this is definitely not a Saturday-morning fun feature designed to be enjoyed with copious amounts of popcorn. In 1969, Variety's reviewer gave it high marks, and Yugoslavia's film establishment thought highly enough of it to make it one their two entries for the Venice Film Festival.