Überall ist es besser, wo wir nicht sind

Jerzy gave up on his hometown of Warsaw a long time ago. There’s nothing to keep him there anymore. He makes ends meet with shady little business deals, saving money all the time for his lifelong dream of moving to America. Jerzy is someone who takes life in his stride and isn’t fazed by anything. On one of his last walks through the city, he bumps into a few friends and ends up meeting the waitress Eva. Following a brief fling, they split up and Jerzy leaves Poland soon after, on the way to New York via West Berlin. His savings aren’t enough to take him any further yet though and he still doesn’t have the right visa to enter the USA. Jerzy starts up his shady deals once again, in a city seemingly on the frontline, completely surrounded by East Germany. He works from time to time for a catering service or as a bailiff. He meets Poles and refugees from other Eastern Bloc countries, who are, just like him, all looking for their fortunes in the rapidly tarnishing “Golden West”. It’s only when Jerzy meets Eva again and the two begin a tentative relationship that Jerzy’s dismal daily routine gain some purpose other than an endless search. Eva works as a cleaner and sometimes as a prostitute. While it seems for a while as if they might have a future together, this time it’s Eva who vanishes from one day to the next without leaving so much as a message. After initial resignation, Jerzy starts to pursue his old goal of fleeing to the USA with even greater determination. He soon manages to get there and is swallowed up by the huge metropolis of New York. As Jerzy is walking through Manhattan one day, he suddenly hears an accordion melody that he recognises. In a nearby Polish local, he comes across the last person he expected to meet there.