- The story about piano that changes many owners through the decades, now in the possession of girl who tries to master the instrument.
- In 1945, a group of students decide to host a cultural evening, in order to celebrate the end of World War II and the liberation of Zagreb. During their preparations, they discover an old piano and ask Ema, a reclusive piano teacher from the same building, to play for them. Visibly upset with their request, she declines, and in solitude starts reminiscing back on her own life and career as a musician.
On June 28th 1914, the day of the Sarajevo Assassination, Ema broke her hip while trying to prevent a piano from being sold. The piano was in a store where her mother worked as a cleaning lady and where Ema learned how to play, thanks to the generosity of its owner. The hip fracture left Ema permanently lame.
In 1922, Ema entered a romance with fellow piano player Berislav. They exchanged tunes through open windows before Berislav finally invited her to meet him outside. Ema eventually changed her mind about it after her lameness left her insecure.
On January 6th 1929, the day a royal dictatorship was established in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Ema and her colleagues were invited to play on a wedding reception of the town's elite. Eventually, they were not given the opportunity to play, as the hosts decided to experiment with newly acquired radio instead.
In 1941, during the Nazi occupation of Zagreb and the establishment of NDH, Ema was spending time at a local dive bar before she stumbled onto bearded Berislav. Berislav had just escaped a concentration camp and was looking for a hideout from the bar owner. While in the bar, Ema started day-dreaming about playing at a concert, with Berislav as a composer. Her day-dream ends once an Ustashe patrol enters a bar in search of undesirables. Berislav is discovered and chased around the railroad track before getting shot dead. Ema runs out to discover his body.
Back in 1945, Ema changes her mind and leaves the apartment. She is still encouraged by enthusiastic students to come up and play. The students round-up around the piano to witness the performance. Ema realizes it is the same piano that was taken from her in 1914, as it has her name carved out underneath. Painful memories once again take over actions. She drops her head on the piano and refuses to play, choosing despair over a chance of redemption.
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