Eau douce

Micheline, who is pregnant, lives in a home for women from which she tries to observe the world with calm and serenity. Among other women of the home who are also pregnant the frequently asked question is whether they will keep their baby or not.

Noël is a different kind of man. He has maintained a state of innocence. His apparent non-conformism springs from his intuition, sensuality and, above all, his deep attachment to nature and its elements. People treat him like the village idiot and his one source of refuge and understanding is a little girl. Even Olivia, the local teacher with whom he falls in love, has trouble understanding and accepting his behavior which she considers primitive. In a state of despair about living in a world where there is no longer a place for the animal reign, Noël winds up committing an irreversible act...

Recently the victim of a car accident, Paul, a teacher, is no longer the same man. He no longer shows any interest in his environment and, even more worryingly, he seems to have become impervious to all feelings, all emotions. His wife, Marianne, and his mistress, Luisa, are of little more interest to him than his students, which is to say very little. Desperate, Luisa meets Marianne to try to understand.

25 year-old Hippo doesn't have a job, doesn't study either but lives from the money his younger brother earns with dealing and from occasional Poker winnings.

Three female friends recall their misadventures (more sexual than cinematical) attending the Locarno Film Festival.

Zayane is 75. Since arriving in France, she has never left her neighborhood. One day, she receives a letter informing her of the death of a man she once knew in Algeria. She sets off on a day trip to collect a box that the deceased left her. During her absence, her eleven children gather in her apartment and discover a part of their mother's life that was previously unknown to them all...

"The choice of each period is intimate, as each period awakens a particular emotion in me. This emotion reflects what is around me, not everyone is able to recognise it -- that is the risk I take. I think that this is good enough reason to make a film that will make visible small yet revealing things in differeent ways. I believe in tropisms and that is what interests me in this film." -- Marie Vermillard [taken from London Film Festival 2006 catalogue]

Max and Minou are having a relationship crisis: she's crying, he's getting annoyed. Their car has been vandalised but this is not why she's crying. While looking for a car repairer on a small industrial estate, they come across some people who are even more troubled than they are. The world seems about to erupt.

In the 12th century, Brother Antoine and Brother Vincent decided to leave their monastery and return to the world to help people find joy. Armed only with their enthusiasm, they face all kinds of adventures, making their journey a voyage of initiation. La Coquille de l'Escargot is the first part of a diptych.

A young woman wanders down an endless corridor, while other people knock at a door at night. A man takes a picture of Montmartre, two women hand him some money, while a patron manages from rue de Mhyra a network of Italian call girls. Adiba sings an ancient Moroccan song in a room full of children, while Vidya is performing her daily puja in Pune (India). Giuli sings to herself as she drives at night through Turin and runs to the station at day. Parallel stories where every character is caught “in a situation,” closed.