——UPGRADED——
On Christmas Eve in the Spanish quarter of L.A. police try to arrest a couple running a shady floor show. Hiding in a church, the girl finds an abandoned baby and uses it as cover to escape capture. Thus she finds herself with a baby she is becoming ever more fond of, a helpful doctor himself too fond of the bottle, and a husband who has disappeared. Dare she try and change her ways and keep the child?
A family in rural Taiwan starts to break up when the son’s young wife dies giving birth to her second child. The son Kun-Cheng leaves home and drifts into another sexual relationship, but tries to be a good father to his kids and a tolerant, filial son to his parents, both of whom irritate the hell out of him.
The movie follows the lives of a woman and a man starting from several generations earlier. The story spans a whole century and several continents.
Centred around a former tennis champ who swings with the girls and volleying straight sets with the rich and famous while set on owning his own tennis court.
Athos Magnani, a young researcher, returns to Tara, where his father was killed before his birth, at the request of Draifa. The father, also named Athos Magnani and looking exactly like the son, was killed by a fascist in 1936 — or so says Draifa (his mistress), the town statue, and everyone in town. As the son untangles the web of lies this story is constructed from, he finds himself ensnared in the same web.
Alexander, an old writer, is ill and prepared to die. He says his goodbyes and recalls his life with his wife long ago. While driving his car he saves a street kid, an illegal immigrant from Albania, from being arrested. Later in the day, by chance, he sees the same boy being abducted, and follows in his car. Although he is preoccupied with his own regrets, he puts death on hold to find a way to help the boy.
Immigration officers raid the kitchen of a Montreal restaurant. Illegal immigrant dishwashers flee, including a certain Pablo Torres… Claire, a teacher, lives alone. Claire’s sister, Annie, a lawyer, has a problem: the visa of her client Pablo, a political refugee who was tortured in his Latin American homeland, is about to expire. Would Claire marry him so he can remain in Canada? Afterwards, she and Pablo will go their separate ways. Claire reluctantly agrees. They marry, but Immigration knows what’s going on. The two are forced to live together…
Harvey and Gillian Fairchild face a very difficult weekend. Harvey, celebrating his 60th birthday, is stressed and depressed. Gillian is awaiting the results of a throat biopsy. Their lives are further complicated by their three grown children, a ditsy neighbor, a fortune teller, and an alcoholic priest.
