Teza

The film opens with rapid crosscuts between a chanting priest wrapped in muslin, a severely injured man wheeled through a hospital, and a recurring image of a child who later appears as a hallucination. This sequence sets a dreamlike mood and signals traumatic memories to come. The priest's demand to wake up introduces themes of belief, memory, and possession that echo throughout the story.

In 1990, Anberber returns to his impoverished village and is warmly welcomed by his mother and brother. The reunion is interrupted by the presence of dejected, handcuffed youths and a lively welcome party that is quickly overshadowed by the reality of conscription. The contrast highlights the social upheaval pressing on the community.

Anberber wakes up with no memory of losing his leg, and the villagers fear he is possessed. They drag him to a church for an exorcism, where he resists and the crowd demands he remove his shoes. His unsettling hallucination of the child intensifies as the ritual unfolds.

Flashbacks reveal Anberber as a German graduate student in the 1970s who meets Cassandra and proclaims himself a socialist motivated by alleviating Ethiopian suffering. He links his research to help his country and engages in discussions about oppression and solidarity. These memories foreshadow his later sense of dislocation between continents.

Anberber participates in socialist student meetings where imperialism and the role of educated elites in national change are debated. A radical member challenges another woman's allegiance, highlighting tensions around culture and politics. The scenes reveal the complexities of revolutionary identity abroad.

Back in the village, young men hide in a cave to avoid conscription, and soldiers later kill a young man in front of the villagers. Anberber tries to intervene but cannot save him, and the murdered man merges with his hallucination of the child. The event crystallizes the brutality of the era and his mounting guilt.

Cassandra becomes Anberber's girlfriend, and a pregnancy complicates their relationship as past traumas surface. Cassandra's father was a Cameroonian man who left behind a challenging legacy, and her mother struggled with racism and suicide. Her backstory informs her fears about love, loyalty, and motherhood.

In 1974, Ethiopian students in a bar celebrate the deposition of Emperor Haile Selassie and the fall of the monarchy, joined by White Germans who cheer with them. Anberber quietly contemplates the political vacuum and wonders who might lead Ethiopia next. The moment blends collective euphoria with personal uncertainty.

In the 1980s, Anberber returns to Addis Ababa as a PhD holder, only to face military presence and a government that pressures intellectuals to support the revolution. He notes the paradox of revolutionaries living in luxury seized from others. Tensions with cadres mount as political expectations collide with personal beliefs.

A close friend is murdered by rival cadres, and Anberber narrowly escapes the same fate. He refuses to sign a statement that the murder was an accident, prompting the haunting image of blood morphing into a leaky faucet that follows him nightly. The brutal violence cements his desire to distance himself from politics.

Anberber is sent to Germany to meet Tesfaye's son and wife but is suspected of being a spy by the Ethiopian diaspora. He endures prejudice and is contrasted with others who perceive diaspora life as harsher than his. A racist mob later assaults him, leaving him gravely injured and missing a leg.

Back in the present, the village is short a teacher until Anberber is chosen to fill the role. He helps dress the wound of a returning conscript and gradually embraces his duties as the community's educator. The classroom becomes a space of hope and continuity.

Azanu becomes pregnant, and Anberber experiences a surge of voices as he contemplates the life growing inside her. His visions intensify, revealing deeper anxieties about the country and his own mind. The cycle of trauma and potential renewal circles back to him as a teacher and partner.

A powerful vision shows a traditional grain bin with many holes leaking grain, symbolizing a country losing its people and resources. The priest interprets this as a sign that Anberber's education alone cannot fix Ethiopia's chronic problems without collective action. The moment reframes his sense of responsibility.

As the New Year arrives, Azanu gives birth and the village celebrates with a chorus and blooming yellow flowers. The sequence ends on a note of rebirth, suggesting the next generation may choose a different path than the violence of prior regimes. Anberber looks toward a hopeful future, renewed by the possibility of change.