Marcela (Ana Geislerova) is a beautiful woman married to Jarda (Roman Luknar) and mother of two children Lucina (Michaela Mrvikova) and Kuba (Adam Misik). She lives in a flat attached to her husband's chop shop. Their Prague neighborhood has been devastated by the floods of 2002, and Jarda has set up an illegal business refashioning cars from stolen vehicles. His protesting mother, a former school teacher, has been locked in her room so she won't interfere.
Jarda's survival instincts have served him well but they have definitely taken a toll on his marriage. He and Marcela fight all the time; the only thing left in their relationship is the raw and unfettered sexuality that first drew them together. But that is no longer enough for Marcela, and she takes the kids and moves in with her mother Zdena (Jana Brejchova) and her domineering and always cranky stepfather Richard (Jiri Schmitzer). In the cramped apartment, he explodes when the kids eat the only cookies he's allowed on his diabetic diet. He also is irked with their lack of manners and failure to do simple chores, like taking out the garbage. Zdena tries to mediate between her daughter and her husband but everyone is uncomfortable with this arrangement.
A new possibility for Marcela comes when one of Jarda's men steals a car with a tracking security system, and they are caught and hauled off to prison. Evzen Benes (Josef Abrham), the owner of the vehicle, meets Marcela at the police station and is immediately enchanted with her. He takes her out to dinner and gives her and the children a place to stay in a house he owns. Then Evzen invites them to visit him in Tuscany where he owns a vineyard. She doesn't know what to make of this wealthy and kind-hearted man who seems to think that she deserves the best that life has to offer. Marcela is not used to being treated with respect.
Czech director Jan Hrebjk has fashioned a poignant love story about the trouble many people have accepting the kindness and good fortune that come their way. The screenplay by Petr Jarchovsky catches the complicated dynamics of family life and the pain and heartache that comes when marriages fail. Marcela doesn't want to be like her mother who constantly allows her husband to control every aspect of their lives. Richard is a chauvinist who is also creepy around kids. When Evzen takes them all out to eat in a fancy restaurant, he says all kinds of awkward and embarrassing things. Yet thanks to the humanizing screenplay which makes each character distinctive, it is Richard who comes across with the poignant observation that sometimes those we like least of all are capable of surprising us when we need help.
The movie's title comes from a Robert Graves poem: "Beauty in trouble flees to the good angel / On whom she can rely . . ." But in the last analysis, we wonder if Marcela's penchant for rough sex will overwhelm her other options. Kindness has always has a hard battle against fiercer character qualities and in this compelling drama, it staggers at the finish.
