Heart Parade is a Polish romantic comedy based on a young cynophobic woman trying to get her job back by helping organise a dog parade and finding love along the way. It is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Working for a news channel in Warsaw, Magda is an obsessive planner and it is no surprise that she handles the organizing of her boss, Zula’s party, meticulously. Aware of Zula’s plan to announce her retirement later that very day, she hopes to be chosen to take over her position.
Everything seems to go as expected until Zula’s dog, Todd, escapes from his room and ends up in a critical condition. As Zula blames Magda for Todd’s situation, she fires her. Magda makes her way to the washroom to regain her composure where she catches her fiance, Dawid, cheating on her with her colleague, Ola.
Meanwhile, in Krakow, Krzysztof begins preparing for the annual Dachshund Parade, as the organiser. He is a single father living with his son, Karol and dog, Trombone.
His son, Karol, is showing an unusual interest in school, thanks to his crush on Tosia, a girl in his school. Sadly, the kid is regularly getting bullied by others at school. Determined to find someone for his dad, Karol sets up an ad online, renting out a room in their house.
Magda tries to think up a way to reclaim her job and decides on exposing the Dachshund Parade on behalf of Zula, who has been bitter towards them ever since Todd lost their contest. Alas, the organisers have a strict “No media, no sponsors” rule. Concluding that the only way to collect data on the parade is by infiltrating them, she applies for Karol’s convenient ad.
On arriving at the location, Magda finds Karol, Krzysztof and Wiktor in a suspicious position. Putting this together with the screams she overheard from the apartment, she reports them to a police officer, believing Karol to be in danger. The cop clears up the misunderstanding and Karol convinces his dad to let Magda stay.
No-nonsense Magda offers her help in organising the parade but finds it hard to get work done in Krakow where everyone seems to be laid-back and confused about why she’s in a rush. She continues to aid in organising while making sure to record footage for her story.
When Trombone’s muscle goes into a spasm, Magda helps him with her friend, Anatol’s help, despite being cynophobic.
With Magda’s help, Karol is able to avoid getting bullied and impressing Tosia, who later defends him from the bullies. To impress her, he decides to perform dog tricks with Trombone, which Magda offers to teach him.
Jealous of the attention Magda is getting, Irena lets Trombone escape while under Magda’s watch, causing her to get into trouble. While searching for the dachshund, Magda has a panic attack and tells Krzysztof how her relationship with dogs has been doomed all her life, causing her to fear them.
The two find Trombone with the help of a tip on an online forum. Finding himself falling for her, Krzysztof tells Magda about his sculpting internship offer in Vienna.
Dawid shows up out of the blue at Krzysztof’s, claiming to be Magda’s fiance. He takes back the harsh remarks he made earlier and begs her for a second chance, but Magda refuses, kicking him out.
Seeing Krzysztof upset, Wiktor advises him to give Magda a chance to explain the situation, pleading that he fight for her.
Disheartened, Dawid hatches a plan with Irena to hack into Magda’s laptop and turn in the data she has collected. Irena ensures Krzysztof and Karol watch the channel’s story against the Dachshund Parade, made using the footage Magda captured. Feeling hurt and betrayed, they ask Magda to pack up and leave.
If you still have doubts about the ending, here’s a full breakdown.
Heart Parade (2022) ending explained in detail:
The conference
Pleased by her efforts, Zula invites Magda to a conference where she reveals her satisfaction over Magda’s story on the parade. She unhesitantly fires Dawid when he wrongfully tries to take credit for the story.
She then offers Magda exactly what she wanted, a chance to take over the channel once she retires. Magda accepts her offer and excuses herself on receiving a call from Wiktor.
Karol’s performance
Wiktor asks Magda to make her way to the Dachshund Parade to help as the situation is worsening. Although the parade itself is a success, Trombone is exhibiting signs of nervousness, making Karol want to back out. Moreover, Krzysztof is leaving for Vienna immediately after the parade and won’t be returning for another year.
Magda calls upon Anatol, who drives her to Krakow just in time for Karol’s performance, which is off to a bad start. She guides Karol through the tricks which he manages to pull off. Impressed by his skills, Tosia asks Karol to teach her a few of his tricks when he returns from his trip, making their plan a success.
A Happy ending
Hurriedly making his way to the station, Krzysztof is stopped by Magda, who apologizes to him and admits her mistakes. Forgiving her, he asks her to spend the weekend with them, revealing that their trip to Vienna was only meant to last a week.
That’s when Magda realises that lying about the trip’s duration had been Wiktor’s ruse to convince her. The two make up and Krzysztof proposes to Magda who says yes. The four then rush to catch their train to Vienna.
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