A small group of French students are studying Mao, trying to find out their position in the world and how to change the world to a Maoistic community using terrorism.
Two college roommates have 24 hours to make the ultimate choice as they finalize arrangements for a black market abortion.
Maria and Jose, a young married couple begin life together in an orchard in the countryside. It isn't long until they have four children: Miguel, Arturo, Angelita, and Lito. The eldest, Miguel, is a deaf-mute. Life is good for the family and the children grow up and bring joy to the community. But trouble enters their lives when Jose makes an enemy of Bruno, a widower, much feared in the village.
Mihajlo, an introvert piano teacher starts romance with a pretty careerist who teaches modeling at the university in Belgrade where they both work. His feelings are awakened after a long period, but this relationship makes him see the flashbacks, as well as yet unseen images that remind him of his troubled childhood - as if he experienced this already. When their university wins a contest to hold public TV performance, Mihailo fails to play the piano on the decisive night and she dumps him. The boiling point is about to come.
After being kidnapped and escaping, young drummer boy Aaron searches for his camel and finds him in the Nativity of the Baby Jesus. Aaron gives Baby Jesus the only gift he has, a song on his drum.
The circularity of violence seen in a story that circles on itself. In Macedonia, during the war in Bosnia, Christians hunt an ethnic Albanian girl who may have murdered one of their own. A young monk who's taken a vow of silence offers her protection. In London, a photographic editor who's pregnant needs to talk it out with her estranged husband and chooses a toney restaurant.
An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new cathedral which he hopes will be paid for primarily by a wealthy, stubborn widow. He is losing sight of his family and of why he became a churchman in the first place. Enter Dudley, an angel sent to help him. Dudley does help everyone he meets, but not necessarily in the way they would have preferred. With the exception of Henry, everyone loves him, but Henry begins to believe that Dudley is there to replace him, both at work and in his family's affections, as Christmas approaches.
A mountain climber devises a plan to eliminate the tyrannical husband of a young Vietnamese woman with whom he has fallen in love.
Tito's break-up with Stalin in 1948 marked the beginning of not only confusing, but also very dangerous, years for many hard-core Yugoslav communists. A careless remark about the newspaper cartoon is enough for Mesha to join many arrested unfortunates. His family is now forced to cope with the situation and wait for his release from prison.
"Long Dark Night" follows the life of the fictional character Iva Kolar: his experiences as a Croatian University student, his role as a Partisan fighting Hitler's troops during W.W. II, his involvement in his nation's post-war government, and his eventual downfall.
Successful surgeon Tomas leaves Prague for an operation, meets a young photographer named Tereza, and brings her back with him. Tereza is surprised to learn that Tomas is already having an affair with the bohemian Sabina, but when the Soviet invasion occurs, all three flee to Switzerland. Sabina begins an affair, Tom continues womanizing, and Tereza, disgusted, returns to Czechoslovakia. Realizing his mistake, Tomas decides to chase after her.
Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle—Santa Claus. Her mother told her the secret about Santa a long time ago, but, after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all—something to believe in.
In a small, poor village leaning over high rocky mountains, the villagers are simple and diligent people who struggle to cope with a harsh nature. They earn their living off the earth and a few animals they feed. Fathers always prefer one of their sons. Mothers command their daughters ruthlessly. Ömer, the son of the imam, wishes hopelessly for the death of his father. When he understands that wishful thinking does not have any concrete results, he begins to search for childish ways to kill his father. Yakup is in love with his teacher, and one day after seeing his father spying on the teacher he dreams too, like Ömer, of killing his father. Yıldız studies and tries to manage the household chores imposed by her mother. She learns with irritation about the secrets of the relationship between men and women.
"The Bear Joseph", so named because of a fight with a bear, is rescued by Wally, a farmer's daughter, from a dangerous situation in a vulture's nest. He then calls her "Geierwally". They fall in love. Wally's father disapproves of this romance. He has other plans for Wally.
In the mountains of the Ötztal, the wealthy Fender (Eduard Köck) and Wally (Heath Hatheyer), his only daughter and heir, manage a small farm. He wants to marry the rich, but boring, Vincent (Leopold Esterle). Wally escapes to a mountain hut, where she lives alone and withdrawn. Her love belongs to the hunter, Joseph (Sepp Rist). When she unwisely takes a young vulture from its nest and is attacked by the mother, Joseph comes to her aid and from that point on, she fondly calls him her "Geierwally". He also feels attracted to her, but Wally can't escape the feeling, that the young Afra is his mistress. Mad with jealousy, Wally announces that she'll marry the one who kills Josef. Vincent wants to earn her hand and is determined to kill the Geierwally. Just in time, though, the actual relationship between Joseph and Afra is clarified.
The father of young maiden Wally wants to force the girl into a marriage.
Because the young hunter Michael has carelessly fallen for the head forester's daughter, he incurs the wrath of his colleague Bertl. This not only earns him a beating, but also a charge for a crime he did not commit. Fortunately, he manages to flee to Africa, where he finds shelter with a friend as a big game hunter. But his heart soon pulls him back home.
The old Flender farmer wants to force his daughter Wally into a marriage of convenience with her childhood sweetheart, the wealthy farmer Josef Gruber. This is the only way to save the Flenders' heavily indebted farm. But the stubborn daughter resists the courtship of Josef, who has serious intentions. At the shooting festival, Wally and her suitor get into a bitter argument, during which the wealthy farmer insults the unruly girl as "Geierwally", referring to her tame, hand-reared golden eagle. Deeply disappointed by her father's intrigues and the wrath of her old love, Wally seeks refuge in a lonely mountain hut. But Josef does not give up so easily. He has his heart set on winning the heart of Geierwally after all.
In a Canadian mountain resort, Vixen Palmer resides with her naive pilot husband Tom. While he's away flying in tourists, she sleeps with practically everybody including a husband and his wife, and even her biker brother. However, the only one she won't bed is her brother's friend... who is Black.
In the communist Romania of Nicolae Ceausescu, a young Romanian woman marries a German citizen just to leave the country.