An absurdist farce centering around a school in post-Soviet Latvia. After a rather disgusting prank (someone defecates in the school attic), the tyrannical headmistress deems that no one can leave until the culprit is caught. When the photographer's pet python escapes, havok breaks loose.
An idealistic high school graduate goes to work on a state farm on the Kazakh steppe, only to clash with its authoritarian leader.
A Cuban emigre, living in Miami and involved in an affair with the American seaman who rescued her and her daughter years earlier, must face her husband after he is unexpectedly released from a Cuban prison.
With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child's mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.
Barcelona, 1980s: in a tough urban neighbourhood inhabited by survivors and ruled by ex-legionnaires Gandhi, Fontán and Andrade - who are fighting a war for control of the streets - Nen and his friends Palito, Topo and Tostao dream of making it big in the world of rumba. But Nen discovers why his father, El Guacho - of whom all Nen has left is the memory of his brilliance as a rumba singer - disappeared many years earlier. He learns how the relationship between his mother, Chata, and Ghandi, leader of the neighbourhood, was connected to his father's disappearance, and so Nen is forced to balance his own desire for vengeance with his longing to triumph.
After the failure of her marriage, Iris goes back to her hometown during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), where she becomes a war photographer.
The late 1950s. Every night, Soviet tractors comb the coast of Latvia looking for signs of anyone who could have infiltrated the Soviet border from the sea. One morning, three Soviet patrolmen discover a woman’s shoe in the sand and footsteps leading to the quaint little village of Liepaja.
In this black comedy set in small-town Bavaria, 11-year-old Sebastian thinks you can never be too young to be a murderer. He's convinced that he killed his mother on the day he was born and is certain he's already been condemned to purgatory. Deciding he might be able to knock off a few years of his sentence by doing good deeds, Sebastian sets out to find a wife for his father Lorenz. When Lorenz and Sebastian's schoolteacher Veronika fall madly in love with each other, it seems the heavens must be smiling. There's just one hitch: Veronika is married.
Four women, whose kids attend the same preschool class, get together for a "fun mom dinner". When the night takes an unexpected turn, these unlikely new friends realize they have more in common than just marriage and motherhood.
Sick of life in the city after his fiancée deserts him, Merrill Day goes to the country for a rest with his sister and niece. There he meets Joan, who has lived in the hills for her whole life, and they quickly begin a romance. Grekko, however, a hunchback who has loved Joan for years, convinces her that Merrill's sister is really Merrill's wife.
After the death of her husband, Pat learns that he gambled away all of their savings and that she's now destitute. She may even have to leave their apartment. Much to the embarrassment of her daughter Tina, who wants to marry a rich snob, she helps the homeless Dollie, who lives in a cardboard box near her building, and they become friends
After a series of catastrophically failed marriages, Apple is single again. Blame on Apple's attachment is in her opinion, her mother Ingrid. Because this Apple has punished not only with her hippie name, but was in every way a raven mother. When Ingrid spends an All Inclusive vacation in Spain, her mother and daughter are confronted with a dramatic event from their past.
Two women, one American and one British, swap homes at Christmastime following bad breakups. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.
A fictionalised exploration of Beethoven's life in his final days working on his Ninth Symphony. It is 1824. Beethoven is racing to finish his new symphony. However, it has been years since his last success and he is plagued by deafness, loneliness and personal trauma. A copyist is urgently needed to help the composer. A fictional character is introduced in the form of a young conservatory student and aspiring composer named Anna Holtz. The mercurial Beethoven is skeptical that a woman might become involved in his masterpiece but slowly comes to trust in Anna's assistance and in the end becomes quite fond of her. By the time the piece is performed, her presence in his life is an absolute necessity. Her deep understanding of his work is such that she even corrects mistakes he has made, while her passionate personality opens a door into his private world.
A Jewish woman named Jettel Redlich flees Nazi Germany with her daughter Regina, to join her husband, Walter, on a farm in Kenya. At first, Jettel refuses to adjust to her new circumstances, bringing with her a set of china dishes and an evening gown. While Regina adapts readily to this new world, forming a strong bond with her father's cook, an African named Owuor.
Jimmy Muir comes from a typical gritty, northern town where there are only two options: working down the pit or in a factory. But Jimmy has other ideas - he dreams of becoming a professional footballer. Confronted by a bitter and unsupportive father, hard drinking friends and a lifetime of bad habits...has Jimmy the will to achieve his ultimate goal?
Jimmy Grimble is a shy Manchester school boy. At school he is constantly being bullied by the other kids, and at home he has to face his mother's new boyfriend. However, through football, and some special boots, he manages to gain the confidence to succeed and leads his school football team towards the final of the local schools cup.
Bored and restless, Alice spends much of her time lusting after Jim, a local sawmill worker. When not lusting after him, Alice fills the hours with such pursuits as writing her name on a mirror with vaginal secretions and wandering the fields with her underwear around her ankles. And, in true teenaged tradition, she spends a lot of time writing in her diary.
Ben Holmes, a professional book-jacket blurbologist, is trying to get to Savannah for his wedding. He just barely catches the last plane, but a seagull flies into the engine as the plane is taking off. All later flights are cancelled because of an approaching hurricane, so he is forced to hitch a ride in a Geo Metro with an attractive but eccentric woman named Sara.
Twelve-year-old Sprotte has a 'gang' with her three friends Frieda, Melanie, and Trude. Together, the girls care for Sprotte's grandmother's chickens. The new girl in school, Wilma, wishes to join the group, which Melanie is very unhappy about, and on top of all of that they have an ongoing revalisasion with a group of boys.