Plot Summary:Set in Riga in 1967, the film deals with the challenges faced by creative young people under an authoritarian regime where artistic freedom is restricted and national culture under assault. In his free time, phone technician Cezars Kalnins (Uldis Pucitis) writes songs and plays in a rock band called 'The Optimists'. While the band is trying secure permission to perform in public, Anita Sondore (Dina Kuple), a member of the Youth Aesthetics Education Committee, writes a report criticising Cezars' lyrics as 'frivolous' and 'unsuitable'.
年轻的史密斯没有正式的工作,但对音乐有近乎狂热的喜爱;他组有一个名叫“乐观”小音乐团来演唱他写的歌曲。他的才华还未施展,小乐团就遭到了分管文化的政府部门的阻挠;似乎新的音乐形式并不能被传统所接受。史密斯不畏艰难,努力争取,为实现了自己的音乐理念而奋斗着。 影片中的著名歌曲《viņi dejoja vienu vasaru》 (他们在整整一个夏天跳舞) 十分动听;高潮部分与1981年著名音乐剧《Cat》(猫)中的歌曲《Memory》(记忆)十分相似;后者之作曲者韦伯(也是音乐剧《歌剧魅影》和《悲惨世界》的曲作者)被指抄袭。至今并无定论。