AllMovie

This is an enigmatic tale of a man's attempt to regain a lost period of youthful happiness. Peter (Bruno Ganz) and his somewhat broken-down wife arrive at a friend's house for an extended visit. Peter has been attracted to the woman of the house; he also once spent an idyllic summer here. He takes up with the couples' three children and engages them in games and child's play, partly as an attempt to regain the joy of that one summer. As the relationships between Peter and the other three adults shift around, his own objective for this visit remains well-hidden from view.