AclassicalballadmotifaboutanageingfatherandhisthreedaughtersisquiteunusuallyheresetagainstthebackdropofCzechoslovakiaofthe1950s.Afterhavingbeenexpropriated,theformerlandownerMajdaseeksrefugewithhisthreedaughterswhomhehadsenttoaconventalongtimeago.Butonlytheyoungestoneisabletoforgivehimandsheiswillingtotakecareofhimdespitethethreatofexpulsionfromtheorder.Uher’sconstantobsessionwiththenationalthemewasagaingivenvoiceinThreeDaughters,thefirstintrospectivefilmaboutthemostdifficultyearsofCommunism.Hisuseofemotion,metaphysics,andsurrealismimpartedaballadicqualitytohiswork.Theconfrontationoftwoideologies,CatholicandCommunist,inthestoryofnunsbeingexpelledfrommonasteriesatthebeginningofthe1950s,bitterlyacknowledgedthatalthoughideology(history)shouldservepeople,inrealityitmercilesslyrolledoveranyonewhogotinitsway,evenifonlybriefly.