Jiri Menzel describes his childhood and the cultural environment in Prague; his studies at FAMU and the reasons he devoted himself to cinema, though his first love was theater; the realization of his most famous films such as Closely Watched Trains and Capricious Summer. The first one won "Oscar", so Menzel became one of the men of the Prague Spring of 1968. In this book the legendary director pays attention to his theater career at home and abroad, as well as to his performances as an actor. He also pays special attention to the genesis and formation of his creative methods and on his views on cinema. Throughout the text a simple maxim is being conveyed: "I want to make films so that people like them and love watching them."