SERAPHIM, THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S SON

Austria-Hungary, end of the 19th Century. Little Seraphim lives with his parents on a tiny rock island off the Adriatic Coast. His father, a lighthouse keeper, is a religious and pedantic despot. But the father’s rigid morale is pure hypocrisy. In fact, he has been having an affair with the attractive maid for a long time. Seraphim’s mother, who silently lets her husband do as he likes, one day dies from grief over her miserable life. The years go by, meanwhile Seraphim attends a military academy. In a dive he meets a seductive girl. Although his supervisor, an old Major, warns him of the red-haired beauty, Seraphim gets involved with her. What he doesn’t suspect is that the Major himself has had an affair with the young woman until shortly. Very soon, Seraphim’s pay cannot cover his lover’s chic wishes any longer. He accepts a shady deal to not lose her. When the Major gets wind of the issue he has the young soldier in his hand: For his silence he demands that Seraphim separates from his expensive girlfriend. For fear of a scandal, Seraphim pretends to be mentally unstable and ends up in the military hospital’s psychiatric wing. With the help of a laundry woman he can escape. He marries her and together they return to the island of his childhood.