Tonda is a little boy with bronchial asthma, and when his parents and his older brother Jirka take a trip to Paris in the summer of 1968, he has to stay in the healthy climate of the family’s cottage in the Jizera Mountains under the watchful eye of his beloved grandfather– a descendant of Russian nobility—and an odd assortment of village locals. However, their holiday together, which Tonda certainly didn’t want, soon changes dramatically on August 21. His grandfather knows very well what the Russian occupation means, and gently calms and guides his frightened grandson. The traumas of the 20th century are reflected in the grandfather’s story, and the film’s themes include how lives can be shaped by historical events and what resilience means.

The End of the World tells the story of the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact by the eyes of a child, while also capturing the varied reactions of the local villagers with subtle humour and understated drama.