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Though his land has been condemned by the government to make way for the waters of a new dam, Ivan refuses to leave altogether. Instead, he moves his house to a spot above the high-water mark, and remains there with his son and his blind father. He insists that the boy remain on the farm rather than go to school, despite the protestations of his brother-in-law. He thinks that the boy agrees with his ideas. However, as soon as the boy is given a bicycle, he uses it to run away. Amid many flashbacks to Ivan's difficult past, his current life swiftly disintegrates. This Bulgarian movie by former painter Christo Christov pioneered the use of stream-of-consciousness, narrative monologues and surrealistic imagery in that nation's films.