Passerelle

José Pereira, a young medical graduate, meets a young and ardent Maria Eugénia. The time is the eve of the Portuguese Revolution, on 24th April 1974 and only a short time elapses between courtship and marriage. The young pair are very much in love, but José begins to have doubts about the "honesty" of such intense feelings of love, feelings which are too intense (or hot) to him . If Maria Eugénia is like this with him, will she be the same with other men?In the meantime, the Revolution takes its course. José, who previously had been persecuted because of his opposition against the old regime, now feels "left behind" and frustrated.

Neves and his wife Celia are the owners and managers of the 'Little Star Pension', a familiar hotel that caters to bourgeois family and would-be actors, instead of the ill-reputed 'Good-Night Pension' (just across the narrow street), where gigolos, whores, and criminals of all sorts may go for a quick encounter. However, not all is well among the ten residents of 'Little Star Pension': each dialogue line from every hotel guest is evidence that he, or her, has a reason (actually, more than one) to hate Neves - to the point of wishing him dead. Carelessness (or devious intention) by one party will provide the means; another, will create the propitious moment; yet another, and then the rest of them will create the festive New Year's Eve occasion - to do with Neves forever! Obviously, only the famous world private-eye Hércules Pirôt can solve the crime... for which he is called by phone, even before the deed is done.

Artur is in Lisbon for his holidays, wonders aimlessly, and is picked up by Rui, a young man who is into marketing and advertising. Joana is in Lisbon for holidays, but also trying to escape from a mysterious, dark passion. Artur and Joana come together, find common roots in their rural background.

In a unique approach to what amounts to four pseudo-morality plays, director Monique Rutler has a street entertainer with hand puppets summarize the characters and idea of each story. The first sketch is about a young man who shines shoes for a living, and tries to keep up a relationship with two women while convincing each she is his only true love. The next story is about a man who beats up his wife when he is drunk, and sells furs for a living. One day, as she is riding in the back of his truck with the furs, he hits a bad patch and she and some furs fall out. The question is, will the woman be enterprising and leave the jerk - or not? The third tale concerns a woman looking into how much control a prostitute has over her clients, and to really find out, she becomes a prostitute herself for awhile - leading to some quite unexpected situations. The last segment handles the uglier side of the life styles of the rich and famous.

A nobleman from Alentejo, from a very conservative family, intends to reconquer Olivenza, returning the situation to the times of the Treaty of Tordesillas. To this end, he creates two movements, which prepare for the big day. However, these plans do not work, as the daughter of the Mayor of Olivenza falls in love with the son of the Baron of Altamira, and the war will be different...