Made of four short tales, linked by a story filmed by Wim Wenders. Taking place in Ferrara, Portofino, Aix en Provence and Paris, each story, which always a woman as the crux of the story, invites to an inner travel, as Antonioni says "towards the true image of that absolute and mysterious reality that nobody will ever see".
Madame Jouve, the narrator, tells the tragedy of Bernard and Mathilde. Bernard was living happily with his wife Arlette and his son Thomas. One day, a couple, Philippe and Mathilde Bauchard, moves into the next house. This is the accidental reunion of Bernard and Mathilde, who had a passionate love affair years ago. The relationship revives... A somber study of human feelings.
In a particularly hot summer, Sister Consuelo, superior of an order dedicated to caring for the sick, decided to transform the dilapidated hospital into a modern nursing.
Bright days ahead? Caroline has retired, at last. A new life lies before her: time to take care of her children, her husband, and, most of all, herself. However, she soon comes to realize that this new freedom is synonymous with boredom and idleness. Especially when she receives a membership to her neighborhood’s senior club as a birthday present… Reluctant at first, she nevertheless decides to take the plunge. Oddly enough, she meets great people there, starting with the young computer science teacher, who is far from insensitive to her charms. Caroline gradually takes control of her life again and lives a second youth: taking a new lover, living new experiences, breaking the rules, not doing what’s expected of her… Who said that retirement was the beginning of the end and not a new beginning?
A young boy and his two grandmothers flee from headhunters and other villainous types in the Brazilian rain forest in this wacky family adventure. Benjamin, whose mom is dead and whose dad is off in the jungle searching for gold, is more cool-headed than his two grandmothers, both of whom hate one another. Upper class teacher bristles at the coarse behavior of working class Suzanne, who shoplifts and cheats at cards. Soon bad guys threaten them, and the chase begins.
Nina is an unemployed actress who has just taken a lethal overdose of tranquilizers. Stumbling though the streets of Paris in a deathly haze, Nina collapses into unconsciousness. Fortunately for Nina, lonely Algerian Sami happened to jog by at just the right time. But as soon as Sami previously appeared, he vanishes back into the blackness of night, leaving the recovered Nina with no one to thank for saving her life. Determined to let her guardian angel know just how thankful she truly is, Nina discovers that Sami was once a promising long-distance runner whose dreams of Olympic stardom had been dashed, and who now scrapes by as a transvestite prostitute. Realizing that they've both hit rock bottom, Nina and Sami make a pledge to support one another to the point where they can both get clean and pursue their dreams before it's too late.