Melanie Gerren

Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned, a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane, a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor.

After his father's death, elementary school teacher Leopoldo discovers he has to share the inheritance with a half-brother he didn't know existed: hustler and small-time crook Melchiorre, currently in jail.

17th-century noblewoman Porzia leaves the cloister she was raised in to marry, but an ambush leaves her with only humble coachman Bartolo by her side. While venturing into dangerous and unknown lands, the two grow increasingly close despite their opposite backgrounds.

Two stories run on parallel lines in a nocturnal Rome. Marcello is an easygoing sixty-five-year-old film producer trying to convince a beautiful actress to accept a part in a film. The other protagonist is a group of petty criminals and illegal immigrants who pass the night stealing, taking drugs, having sex and drinking. Marcello talks about his experience working with Fellini and Mastroianni during the wonderful years of DOLCE VITA; this strongly contrasts the city experienced by the immigrants.

Freddy and Dodò are two forty-something holiday resort entertainers. Their Africa consists of costumes, games, antics, postcard-perfect scenery, and—above all—that anthropological species known as "vacationers." When they crash-land a small plane amidst desert dunes, they discover an Africa defined by sacrifice, solidarity, and suffering.