Stefan Gubser

David, now an old man, is still king of Israel. Among his sons, the ambitious Adonijah and the clever Solomon, fierce rivals, since both are prospective heirs to the throne and only one can be.

During a long summer, the tranquility of a couple and their three children resting in a country house is altered with the arrival of the children's uncle, a character who exerts a curious influence on the boys and a morbid and strange attraction the wife. Twelve years after 'Los viajes escolares' (1973), his first commercial feature film, the Madrid director Jaime Chávarri returns to the same estate in the province of Segovia to shoot a new family story, about his own plot and script. Like its predecessor, 'The Golden River' contains a strong autobiographical charge and is full of personal resonances. But this new history of family ties is narrated from a perspective in which adultery manifests itself openly. Endowed with a slow narrative rhythm, the film presents an international cast headed by Ángela Molina, Bruno Ganz, Francesca Annis and Stefan Gubser. The film also has the presence of a very young Juan Diego Botto, in one of his first appearances on the big screen.

The Swiss President, called by all only "big hangover", is in trouble: the election is coming and according to surveys his chances are not very good. From a meeting with the Spanish royal couple, he hopes media attention and a popularity boost. He does not suspect that his closest confidant Pfiff, of all people, is intriguing against him in order to come to power himself. But he does not even shy away from misusing his family for his own purposes. Soon, the president has to fight not only for his political position, but also for his marriage.

Jonas and Silvia are enjoying a wonderful sailing holiday in the Mediterranean sea. But while sailing through the night, far away from land, they discover an overloaded refugee boat, close to sinking. They are shocked, but too afraid to help. So they call the coast guards but lose the boat out of sight into the darkness of the night. In the early morning they find themselves drifting through an ocean of dead bodies. The refugee boat has sunk. Jonas and Silvia manage to pull a few survivors out of the cold water: Syrians. This rescue marks the beginning of a dramatic conflict between the hopes and dreams of the refugees, and the fears and ideals of the holiday sailors.

Hoping to become a great singer in Germany, a young dreamer named Ernst Schrämli finds himself drawn into underhand dealings. Determined to escape a suffocating environment that annihilates any kind of creative or artistic impetus, Ernst sells information about the Swiss army to a Nazi spy by the name of August Schmid, who charms and manipulates him. When Ernst’s crime is uncovered, he is sentenced to death for espionage and treason, becoming the first Swiss citizen to be executed.

The wife of the publisher of the tabloid newspaper EXKLUSIV is shot in front of the editors building. JournaIist Mike Baertschi, employee of EXKLUSlV and his photographer Bernhard Kauter are witnesses of this attack.

A helicopter crashes in the Sahara Desert. The entire crew are killed - only a small infant miraculously survives. Emir Tafud, who has no children of his own, brings the child up as his successor. When Ben is 25 years old he decides to set off in search of his true parents. In Casablanca he meets French crook Jacquot, who takes him with him to Monte Carlo. They both actually manage to find Ben's mother Christine. She tells Ben that his father was a scientist on a secret mission to Africa. Christine wants Ben to stay in Monte Carlo and take over her firm, but Ben has his heart set on living in Belem with his adored Amina. But now Ben gradually unearths a dreadful secret: Christine's second husband François was responsible for the death of his father, who had discovered valuable minerals in the Sahara. After a bitter struggle, Ben finally succeeds in saving his homeland from Western greed.