A 12 year-old Olympic swimmer and her mother (both played by July) speak to the public about “going for the gold”.
Della, a 45-year-old wanna-be, coulda-been jazz singer and her lover, Dale, a 23 year old small time criminal, are in the final stages of their dysfunctional relationship.
Four alternating stories about mundane, personal methods of control. Children and a developmentally disabled adult operate control panels made out of paper, lists, monsters and their own bodies.
A small traveling circus from Hanoi arrives at a village struck down by famine, trying to sell magic and dreams.
An exceptionally beautiful Chinese woman falls prey to violence and social control. After remembering how her previous reincarnation followed a similar path, she tries to break free of the mould.
Five young men threw themselves with heart and soul into the work force. They have different approaches and different life styles.
Wu Viet is a Vietnamese refugee who wants to leave his country behind and start over in the United States. First, he must make his way to Hong Kong, but as he passes through Thailand, he meets a beautiful woman who travels with him. Wu and his new love end up in a refugee camp in Thailand, where they discover many of their countrymen are disappearing under mysterious circumstances. As Wu tries to learn the truth about what's happening, he discovers his life is in danger, and he must flee to the Philippines for safety.
Hong Kong student Ben Lee becomes friends with his mainland Chinese classmate Chang Chih while studying abroad in Japan. Ben is unmotivated to study and only cares about money and on the other hand, whenever Chih encounters a Chinese person, he would ask whereabouts of his childhood sweetheart. Ming is also from Hong Kong and in order to elevate his social status, he becomes involved with a bar hostess and owner Yuriko, hoping to become Yakuza leader Yamada Ishikawa's brother in-law.
A 12-year-old boy from America experiences the clash of cultures and the generation gap when he visits his grandfather in Shanghai.
Jesper is a soldier in the German army, who reports for a new tour of duty in Afghanistan. His unit is to protect a village from the Taliban.
A day in the life of Arnošt, a soldier staying in Josefov. A sense of desperation permeates the environment as well as the mind of the protagonist. It is sunday, and saturday left just a hangover. Days go by, nothing changes. A metaphor for the political situation in the Czech lands at a time where depicting a soldier as a drunk was considered out of place to say the least.
Mokichi is the widowed father of three daughters, with whom he lives on the premises of a temple since the war. All three daughters become involved in some sort of complicated relationships.
Pu Zhe, the younger brother of the Emperor of Manchukuo, marries Ryuko the daughter of an aristocratic family. To the surprise of all, a deep love between Pu Zhe and Ryuko develops and is put to the test when Japan loses the war.
The Girls is about the growing up of two schoolgirl sisters and the disappointments to which they are condemned by their impoverished backgrounds.
On one wall, a singer delivers a passionate love song to a group of men. He is faced away from his audience, secure that his performance will be accepted and adored. On the opposite wall, a woman in a black chador stands silently throughout his song. Then something stunning happens…
A radio compere is forced to take the late shift and finds her night going places she couldn't have imagined.
All the way, Cao Li has come alone. From Fuyang to Shenzhen. From Shenzhen to Shanghai. From Shanghai to home? Leaving hometown is her choice, the choice out of no choice. Returning home is her dream, the dream getting blinded by the neon lights in the city.--
Little Fatmir, whose parents have worked in a construction site, dreams of building himself a town. In his efforts to make his dream a reality, the kindergarten teacher and a workman who brings in working tools for all his friends, assist him. Within the courtyard of a kindergarten, the newest town in the world is thus erected, where children's dreams and characters are revealed.
Tomka is a boy who likes playing football with his friends. When the German army captures his town, the German soldiers establish their camp in the town stadium. Tomka with help from his friends and their parents organizes sabotage actions against the soldiers.
Laetita Masson directs this hallucinatory dream-like work about dancing on the beach, Elvis impersonators, and sailors longing to live and work in Taipei. Sandrine Kiberlain, Johnny Hallyday, and Julian Sands are just a few of the many cast members.