Set in the early 1920s after the end of the Russian Civil War, Red Army soldier Nikita returns to his hometown to see his partner Lyuba, both of whom are scarred by the trauma of the Russian Empire of yesteryear.

In this dreamlike film, a nameless father and his son, Aleksei, live together in an apartment in St. Petersburg. Aleksei's mother has died and consequently the two have a very close relationship. When Aleksei acquires a girlfriend, she refuses to take a back seat to his bond with his dad, and breaks up with him. Aleksei is also experiencing nightmares, dreading separation from his father to be a part of the military as his father was.

《一代鮮師》乃日本知名電影導演黑澤明在1993年執導的電影，也是他生前最後一部作品。

關於日語片名「まあだだよ」的由來，乃日本小孩玩捉迷藏時捉人者詢問「躲好了沒？」，匿藏者答曰「未得唷！」。片中男主角內田百間是一位生性豁達、看破生死離別的教師，所以面對死亡，他總是調皮地對死神說「未得唷，我還不想離開這個人世間」。因此臺灣將片名翻譯成《一代鮮師》，香港則譯作《裊裊夕陽情》。此外，片中感念教師恩情的學生們所組成的「摩阿陀會」乃「まあだだよ」的諧音。