No Applause for Franush

Franush quickly learns that becoming a man is more than sexual maturity. He seeks advice from the town elders who wear the white collar, blue collar, and others he mistakenly believes dress in a red collar. But all their words are wanting. Finally, he walks into the forest to hunt, again thinking it will make him a man. The mysterious Ariadne is waiting and ties a thread from her coat to his ankle so that he may find his way back home. Worried the thread could break, Franush tests its strength before accepting Ariadne's warning that it would break only if he fails in his quest to become a man. But the substance of the warning is more elusive than it appears, and Franush must rely on himself to understand it.