Floating Skyscrapers

Kuba has spent fifteen years as a swimmer, his days defined by training and routine. One evening, his girlfriend Sylwia drags him to an art exhibition, where he steps outside to smoke a joint and meets Michał. The encounter leads the trio into a basement gathering, setting a tentative, complicated mood for what follows.

The morning after, Kuba's mother Ewa pushes Sylwia to move out of the apartment she owns. Kuba defends Sylwia, noting she helps with rent and that he wants her to stay, but the friction between the two women deepens. The family dynamic becomes strained right from the start.

At the gym, Kuba watches other men train and later has an intimate moment with another man in a bathroom cubicle. He enjoys the encounter but resists a kiss and storms out, hinting at a suppressed longing. He later meets Sylwia at the restaurant where she works, continuing the day’s tension.

That evening, Michał calls and asks Kuba to meet. In a smoky parking garage, they talk honestly while sharing a joint, and Kuba reveals he has been with Sylwia for two years. They drive to the top of the garage and stay there until the next morning, deepening their bond.

The following day, Kuba swims under the watchful eye of his coach, who implores him to swim with unwavering focus to qualify for the team. The pressure of competition returns, sharpening the stakes for Kuba’s secret life. The routine resumes with intent.

Kuba and Michał explore a train yard, riding a moving freight train for a taste of carefree rebellion. Sylwia waits at the pool, anxious and silent, as Kuba’s world grows increasingly tangled. The ride marks a break from stability, even as love remains in the air.

After a forest run the next morning, Kuba invites Michał to lunch at his house, where Sylwia attends but is mostly absent from conversation. The meal is quiet and strained, highlighting the shifting loyalties and the growing distance within the trio. Tension lingers in the living room as Sylwia's presence is felt but her voice is muted.

That evening, Michał confesses to his mother that he loves Kuba, though he fears telling his father. His honesty adds new weight to the family’s already fragile dynamics and foreshadows further consequences.

At the swimming competition, Kuba outruns the field but suddenly stops mid-way on the third lap, leaving his coach puzzled. He rushes to Michał’s building, where a homophobic taunt ignites a confrontation that ends in Kuba beating the aggressor and denying his own sexuality.

That night, Michał comes out to his family and proclaims his love for Kuba, while a car speeds along a highway, signaling a storm of change. The revelation intensifies the pressure on Kuba to choose between secrecy and honesty.

Kuba finally admits his relationship with Michał to his mother, who rejects him and demands responsibility. Sylwia is pregnant, and the news pushes Kuba to secure a job and cut ties with Michał, underscoring the cost of keeping secrets.

Reluctantly, Kuba ends things with Michał over the phone while Sylwia stands nearby, the tremor of impending change looming over them all. The personal price of his choices becomes increasingly clear as the couple's bond fractures.

In a pivotal moment, Michał has a heart-to-heart with his father in which the title's meaning is discussed, adding depth to the central tension. The conversation reframes the stakes and clarifies what each character stands to lose.

Michał returns to the parking garage only to be ambushed by a group led by the same aggressor Kuba once faced. He is brutally assaulted, and dies from the violence, a devastating blow that shatters the fragile equilibrium.

The film closes with Kuba and Sylwia in a bathtub. After a brief shoulder massage, Sylwia gazes at him in silence before Kuba steps out and leaves, leaving an unreadable, unresolved emotional residue in the air.