In the midst of World War II, in Nazi-occupied Romania, a night filled with comic mishaps unfolds when a young boy stumbles upon the lifeless body of a soldier. The German authorities demand that the culprit responsible for this discovery be identified, or else the town's leaders will face execution the following morning.
Desperation grips the town, and they turn to Father Johanis, portrayed by Harvey Keitel, for guidance. Their glimmer of hope rests on persuading the town's eccentric figure, Ipu, played by Gérard Depardieu, to falsely confess to the act, sacrificing himself to save the community from impending doom. As the story unfolds, a blend of comedy and the darker facets of human nature race against the ticking clock, leaving one to ponder who, indeed, is the true "fool" in this high-stakes predicament.
