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January 1957, in a small town in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. A middle-class house, the home of two sisters, Clara and Thérèse, whose characters could not be more different. After their father is institutionalized, the two women take over the family business, which specializes in precision optics. One day, the floor of the music room collapses after being ravaged by termites. Karoly, a Hungarian refugeee and jack-of-all-trades, is hired to repair the damage. The Hungarian's presence causes ripples in the seemingly unchangeable life of the two sisters...
Status
Released
Original Language
FR

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Clara and her two sons escape from her abusive husband with little more than their car and plan to start over in New York. After the car towed away, the family meets Alice, who gets them into an emergency shelter. While stealing food at a Russian restaurant called ‘Winter Palace’, Clara meets Marc, who has been given the chance to help the old eatery regain its former glory. The ‘Winter Palace’ soon becomes a place of unexpected encounters between people who are all undergoing some sort of crisis and whom fate has now brought together.