With the right technology, a leaf from a tree can sound like a full-fledged musical instrument. We learn this in the amusing and beautiful film about a small Serbian village, which throws all its love on what must be the most primitive instrument ever. In true Tarkovsky-style, the film begins with windy treetops in slow motion, and while life slowly and silently passes in the village, an unusual and taciturn friendship evolves between three people. For when the autumn leaves fall from the trees, the leaf amateurs Josip and Petar get together, and with the help of the eccentric 'grandma lo-fi' Vera, they learn the phonetics of the leaves. Even if Vera now is an elderly lady with lipstick on her cheeks and a hobby of letting off fireworks, she tells cock-and-bull stories about a past in the clothing industry and at a private detective agency! Vera teaches her grey-haired students to play on leaves and laughs at Josip's lack of talent, who in spite of the fact that he can play 20 other instruments ends up in frustration: 'The first guy who wanted to play this beat his own brains out, I'm sure'. CPH:DOX
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