In the Orthodox religion, the feast of Epiphany is celebrated with a race to the holy cross that a priest launches into a river. The men jump into the icy water to catch the cross, which is supposed to bring good fortune for the whole year to the winner. Thus, in Macedonia, in a village eternally cemented in the darkness of the middle ages, an almost insignificant event is going to take on excessive proportions when a woman participates to this religious ceremony ... and wins. For native males, it's an outrageous theft. For a female journalist, it's a courageous act of social rebellion and feminine emancipation. The event taking on an enormous scale, the local police must intervene. This is the beginning of a downward spiral based on conformity, tradition, archaism, distressing methods of intimidation as well as ridiculous guilt-inducing monologues. As depressing as it may seem, this movie is based on an excellent quartet 'cast + photography + script + dialog'. A delightful surprise from Macedonia.
