The Constitution

Vjekoslav, a high school history professor who lives with his aging father, is assaulted by hooligans while walking at night in downtown Zagreb, dressed as a woman. He is badly beaten and taken to a hospital for treatment. The incident shatters his routine and introduces the central dynamic with his neighbors.

In the hospital, Maja Samardžić, a nurse and neighbor, tends to him and begins to see the person behind the injury. She offers help and shows a calm, practical sympathy that contrasts with his guarded behavior. This initial meeting seeds a fragile connection that will ripple through their lives.

Maja volunteers to help care for Vjekoslav and his father, refusing to take money for her help. She also suggests assisting Ante, her husband and Vjekoslav's neighbor, with studying for his Croatian citizenship exam. Vjekoslav agrees, setting the stage for an uneasy but growing alliance.

During their first session, Vjekoslav openly expresses disdain for Serbs and the idea of them holding police positions. Ante replies with a cutting remark about homosexuals, and both men leave offended. The exchange highlights the deep-seated prejudices simmering between the neighbors.

As they talk, Maja reveals Ante's background, including his wartime service and the fear that drove him to enlist. She shares that she had a miscarriage during pregnancy, a trauma that fuels her desire to build a family through adoption. The revelations deepen their emotional bond and vulnerability.

Maja and Ante meet with a social worker to obtain an adoption license, a process that signals hope for a new family. Vjekoslav, though wary, becomes entangled in the process as an ally and potential godfather figure. The trio's dynamic shifts from hostility to cooperation.

Vjekoslav shows a closet filled with his mother's clothes and his father's Ustasha uniform, sparking questions about his willingness to embrace nationalist sentiment while being gay. He recounts a tale about the Sacred Band of Thebes to illustrate unconventional courage. The moment exposes the contradictions in his beliefs.

Ante spots the dog poisoner through a cafe window but fails to catch him, keeping the subplot alive throughout the film. The recurring, almost comical mystery mirrors the underlying paranoia and mistrust among the neighbors. The thread intersects with the more serious themes of prejudice and fear.

Vjekoslav is reminded of a traumatic childhood memory of Serbian police officers stripping him and his mother while visiting his jailed father. This memory fuels his hatred but also reveals the origins of his conflicted identity. Ante counters with a plea for broader humanity beyond ethnic divisions.

The day after a heated exchange, Vjekoslav opens up about his late lover Bobo and the grief of his cancer diagnosis and suicide a year earlier. He confesses his plan to follow his lover in death once his father dies. The moment marks a pivotal shift toward vulnerability.

Vjekoslav and Ante begin working more closely; he teaches Ante a memory trick to remember material, and Ante shows small but meaningful improvement. Their collaboration strengthens trust between them. Maja starts to envision a future where the three of them are more than occasional neighbors.

With Vjekoslav's help, Ante passes the citizenship exam, and Maja learns that they have been approved for adoption. The news marks a milestone that solidifies the new triad's stability. Yet the city's shadows linger as unresolved tensions remain.

The next day, Vjekoslav discovers his father has died. He dresses the father in his uniform and calls a priest, then heads to the bench where his late lover Bobo shot himself. He is unable to go through with suicide, and the intervention of the others helps him regain footing.

Calmed by Maja and Ante, Vjekoslav agrees to be the godfather of the couple's future child. The scene marks a thaw in the relationships that once divided them and signals a potential, if uneasy, family unity. The trio embraces a shared responsibility that transcends past animosities.

The following day, Maja and Ante celebrate with a motorcycle trip to mark their upcoming parenthood, telling Vjekoslav they'll name the child after him. They ride off in happiness, but the camera lingers on the street where the dog poisoner still moves, suggesting unresolved danger beneath the surface. Time and memory linger as life continues in Zagreb.