AllMovie

In the old East Germany, all sorts of otherwise innocent activities could earn the unwary a prison term. In this story, Hans-Peter Dallow (Michael Gwisdek) was sentenced to two years in prison for acting as a substitute pianist for a tango group in a cabaret when the original pianist became ill. Was his charitable act illegal because the tango symbolizes freedom, because he broke union rules, or because students were present at the cabaret? Any one of these offenses could be the reason for his arrest. Now this puzzled history teacher is back out of prison, and he has become an outcast, unable to get a job, shunned by his old friends. It is 1968, and events in nearby Czechoslovakia have convinced everyone that the totalitarian chill they are experiencing will be permanent.