When Naoko presses "play" on her CD player, she finds herself face-to-face with a mysterious entity inside of a subway train and reminisces on the meaning of friendships, nature and death.
Three soldiers of fortune get together for one last job. However, one of them falls for a drug-addicted hooker, and when her crazed pimp gets involved, complications ensue.
Two lonely people notice each other on the train. One desires the other. A yearning so big it might destroy me. Walk up that hill. Desperation.
Like ghosts, the temporarily shut down cruise ships lie in the port of Hamburg. A young man comes into town and is stranded on the riverbank, waiting for a message. He watches couples strolling along in the sunset and gets himself some sweets. In a moment of collective pause, ISLANDS IN THE CITY captures a fragile romance. There is a departure in the air, the destination of which no one seems to know.
When Gabriel and Emilie meet by chance, he offers her a ride, and they spend the evening talking, laughing and getting along famously. At the end of the night, Emilie declines Gabriel's offer of "a kiss without consequences". Emilie admonishes him that the kiss could have unexpected consequences, and tells him a story, unfolding in flashbacks, about the impossibility of indulging your desires without affecting someone else's life.
Tam, an introvert, finds solace in his unlikely friendship with the optimistic Kimhan by the sea, but as they grow close, their future together remains uncertain.
The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.
Downtrodden writer Henry and distressed goddess Wanda aren't exactly husband and wife: they're wedded to their bar stools. But, they like each other's company—and Barfly captures their giddy, gin-soaked attempts to make a go of life on the skids.
Ineffable
Erika, David, and Pjerrot arrive at the train tracks. They have to wait for the next freight train to arrive, because Erika has given them a challenge that will make them feel alive. But what is going on in their home, and why are they seeking the border? Perhaps it is not just a game.
Five Stages
A Ukrainian woman named Irena calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family. Stopping at nothing to become the couple's trusted maid and the beloved nanny to their fragile young daughter, Irena risks everything in her quest to uncover the truth about the family.
12-year-old Renato experiences three significant events on the same day: the beginning of the Second World War, getting a bike, and witnessing the arrival of the gorgeous Malèna. Through his eyes, we see the curse of beauty and loneliness of Malena, whose husband is presumed dead, and, through his soul, we see his love for her.
In 1890 Paris, Moulin Rouge is a nightclub where crippled artist Toulouse-Lautrec feels like he fits in. In the following years, he meets two women who provide an opportunity for him to find true love.
A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
George is a small-time crook just out of prison who discovers his tough-guy image is out of date. Reduced to working as a minder/driver for high class call girl Simone, he has to agree when she asks him to find a young colleague from her King's Cross days. That's when George's troubles just start.
When recently single Steven moves into his new apartment, cable guy Chip comes to hook him up—and doesn't let go. Initially, Chip is just overzealous in his desire to be Steven's pal, but when Steven tries to end the 'friendship', Chip shows his dark side. He begins stalking Steven, who's left to fend for himself because no one else can believe Chip's capable of such behaviour.
After Maribel Cruz Mejía's death, all that remains is a recording. Through it, a woman tries to preserve the memory of the greatest love of her life and of the person she once was.
A girl with a nickname "Yelow one" lives in the whirlpool of modern metropola. Without experiencing childhood, naive and simpleminded, she becomes a wanderer, although she has a burning desire for home and quiet life. The big city life laws get her in troubles, sad and, at least for her, unintelligible...