Hungarian director Bela Tarr follows his mammoth seven-hour 'Satantango' with this critically acclaimed story about a small Eastern European town on the brink of disaster. When a showman brings a huge whale to the town, along with a sinister side attraction known as the Prince, Lajos (Lars Rudolph) is fascinated by the creature and sees it as proof of a great cosmic design. However, the whale also proves to be a magnet for unrest, and the mob that gathers outside soon edges towards violence.