Maddalena Maggi

French silkworm trader Hervé is married to the beautiful Hélène. When an outbreak of disease ravages European silkworms, Hervé must travel to Japan to retrieve healthy eggs. After a long journey, Hervé finally arrives at a village where he can buy them. He becomes infatuated with a young concubine and goes to great lengths to see her again. But, when war breaks out in Japan, the concubine flees, forcing Hervé to return home to his wife.

The film begins on New Year’s Eve 2001 when Angelica attempts suicide by somewhat theatrically cutting her wrists in the bath. Over the weeks that follow we learn all about the complexities of her life and her three best friends, the quartet of the title.

A wealthy dentist who spends the weekend wargaming with friends provokes a dangerous reaction from his wife, who slips a real gun among the fake ones. An old couple turns to child kidnapping to cover their gambling debts. A young librarian saves the mother of the kidnapped children and confesses her long-standing love for her, expressed through anonymous letters that sustained each other's lives. A college professor who captivates his students with lectures on what is truly important in life finds himself as usual lonely and forgotten on his birthday. A mosaic of souls searching for the meaning of life.

A troubled detective investigates the disappearance of junk TV celebrities who hosted the same controversial talk show.

After receiving a large sum of money on his bank account by mistake, a small-town thirtysomething dissatisfied with his life sees the opportunity of turning back the clock to when things were good, reliving the carefree life of an university student in a big city. Here, he falls in love with a girl and gets her pregnant. There's just one problem: he already has a wife and a daughter back home!

Six shorts.