Four tales, each centered on a woman, journey inward to explore the enigmatic reality of their lives, connecting through a single narrative thread.
Social & External
The people behind it
Fanny Ardant
Patricia
Chiara Caselli
Mistress
Irène Jacob
The Girl
John Malkovich
The Director
Sophie Marceau
Vincent Perez
Niccolo
Jean Reno
Carlo
Kim Rossi Stuart
Silvano
Inés Sastre
Carmen
Peter Weller
Husband
On Christmas Eve, Ewa awaits her scattered family’s return - her husband Adam arrives from Germany, but a buried conflict erupts and he storms out, leaving her alone. Soon a charming, slightly drunk stranger named Mikołaj, dressed as Santa, knocks on her door, and she lets him in, sparking an unexpected intellectual and sensual game. Their encounter takes a tense turn when Adam unexpectedly returns.
Rom just started working at a little flower shop. His dreams and inner-feelings collide when a mysterious woman enters the shop.
After several years together, William and Cecilie break up. To treat the sorrow with love the same night they decide to do the drug MDMA together. This results in a emotional roller coaster ride over a whole weekend, where they're isolated together in their apartment.
A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.
In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim and both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine.
A recently widowed American begins an anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman.
At the end of the 18th century, the wealthy French scholar Saussure comes to a small Alpine village and offers 1,000 pieces of gold to anyone who can lead him to the summit of Mont Blanc. The young farmer's son Jacques Balmat wants to take on the dangerous task, even though his father has told him from an early age about the mighty mountain spirits who guard a legendary treasure of gold on the mountain peak.
In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…
Two young Spanish men, with a university education, are tired of unemployment and decide to move to Germany. But soon they will find out that finding a better living is not as easy as they expected.
A young man wanders the streets of Tokyo clutching a laundry basket. Who is he? What is he looking for? What precious mystery does he hold close to his heart? Discover the simple world of a truly gifted individual. Learn how to achieve spiritual fulfillment with a little fabric softener.
David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.
John Arnold DeMarco is a man who believes he is Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric treatment with Dr. Jack Mickler to cure him of his apparent delusion. But the psychiatric sessions have an unexpected effect on the psychiatric staff and, most profoundly, Dr Mickler, who rekindles the romance in his complacent marriage.
Ramón Sampedro is a ship mechanic and part-time poet left a quadriplegic following a diving accident. Ramón fought for 30 years for the legal right to end his own life. He develops close relationships with his long-term lawyer Julia and his friend Rosa, who tries to convince him that his life is worth living. Despite his situation, Ramón manages to inspire those around him to live life to the fullest.
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
Another Year Together chronicles three romantic relationships in the same New York City family during the Holidays. Jonathan and Sophie, 30s, have been together for several years and are on the fence about marriage. Jonathan's sister, Julie, 40's, is newly single, and is starting anew with her brother's best friend, David. Jonathan's parents, Barbara and Eddie, 70's, have been married for almost 50 years, and find themselves on the precipice of divorce. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, each couple goes through relationship Hell as they confront the reality of what it means to be in love.
Henry is a player skilled at seducing women. But when this veterinarian meets Lucy, a girl with a quirky problem when it comes to total recall, he realizes it's possible to fall in love all over again…and again, and again. That's because the delightful Lucy has no short-term memory, so Henry must woo her day after day until he finally sweeps her off her feet.
In the 19th century a mysterious woman named Adele H. crosses the ocean, from Europe to North America, to relentlessly pursue a handsome officer that denies her satisfaction.
Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture perfect life is shattered when she discovers Mitch's hidden possessive dark side, a controlling and abusive alter ego that can turn trust, love and tranquility into terror. Terrified for her child's safety, Slim flees with her daughter. Relentless in his pursuit and enlisting the aid of lethal henchmen, Mitch continually stalks the prey that was once his family.
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Hélène, a 33-year-old woman from Bordeaux, France, lives happily as a couple with Mathieu, her husband of many years. Her life turns upside down the day she learns she has a rare lung disease. Thanks to a blog, she discovers Norway and decides to follow her instinct. Despite all the love she has for her life partner Mathieu, who is very supportive through her illness, she leaves him behind in France and will cross all Europe to Norway alone in search of a new path and to meet a blogger named Mister that she found on the internet.
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
A holiday fable that tells the story of an elderly man discovering love for the first time.
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Successful Parisian lawyer Frédéric is happily married to schoolteacher Hélène. Though he daydreams of affairs with other women, he doesn't come close to acting on such thoughts until he runs into Chloé, a beautiful old acquaintance. Tempted by the vibrant Chloé, Frédéric is torn between impulsive lust and his love for Hélène.
Neil is torn between two loves: Marina, the European woman who comes to the United States to be with him, and Jane, the old flame from his hometown he reconnects with. Neil’s doubts about his life and loves are reflected in the crisis of faith experienced by Father Quintana, who only sees pain and the loss of hope in the world.
Suzanne Simonin describes her life of suffering in letters. As a young woman she is sent to a convent against her will. Since her parents cannot afford the dowry required for a marriage befitting her rank they decide she must instead become a nun. Although a kind and understanding Mother Superior helps her to learn the convent’s daily routine, Suzanne’s desire for freedom remains unabated. When the Mother Superior dies, Suzanne finds herself faced with reprisals, humiliation and harassment at the hands of the new Abbess and the other Sisters. For many years, Suzanne is subjected to bigotry and religious fanaticism. (Berlinale.de)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
In an enchanted forest, back in the time of the Druids, the shepherd Céladon and the shepherdess Astrée share a pure and chaste love. Fooled by a suitor, Astrée dismisses Céladon, who throws himself into a river out of despair. She thinks he's dead, but he's been secretly rescued by some nymphs. Faithful to the promise he made to Astrée to never appear before her again, Céladon must overcome many obstacles to break the curse. Mad with love and despair, coveted by the nymphs, surrounded by rivals, and obliged to disguise himself as a woman to be near the one he loves, will he manage to make himself known without breaking his oath? A romance filled with doubt, hazards, and delicious temptations.
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife's breast cancer diagnosis.
True tale of the tumultuous love affair between two French literary icons of the 19th Century, novelist George Sand and poet Alfred de Musset. But their affair falls apart during an excursion to Venice, Italy where Musset is distracted by drugs and Sand by a handsome doctor.
Vacations in the French countryside. Daphne, three months pregnant, finds herself alone to welcome Maxime, her boyfriend François’ cousin. François had to leave in a hurry for Paris to cover for a sick colleague. For four days, while waiting for his return, Daphne and Maxime get to know each other and share very intimate stories that bring them closer...
A road trip through Louisiana transforms three strangers who were originally brought together by their respective feelings of loneliness.
Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire.
Wealthy American widower Adam Verver and his daughter Maggie live a refined life in Europe, surrounded by art. Maggie marries impoverished Italian Prince Amerigo, while Adam marries Maggie's friend Charlotte Stant. The Prince and Charlotte are having an affair, which Maggie discovers and navigates through a silent, psychological battle of wills, ultimately using her cunning to preserve her marriage and protect her father.
Jean, a married 40-year-old filmmaker, and his young working class lover, Catherine, engage in a circular series of spectacular blow-ups and tentative reunions, their mutual desire a fire that burns them again and again.
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
