At the edge of adolescence, Tracy is a smart straight-A student--if not a little naive (it seems...she smokes and she cuts to alleviate the emotional pain she suffers from having a broken home and hating her mom's boyfriend, Brady.) When she befriends Evie, the most popular and beautiful girl in school, Evie leads Tracy down a path of sex, drugs and petty crime (like stealing money from purses and from stores)...
While waiting for her mothers reply to take her to the USA, Lilya idles the time away smoking, drinking and having fun with her, too, outcast friend Volodya. In time, the chance of a new life becomes non-existent; her life is going nowhere. Meeting a young man, she then finds a plane ticket in her hand and a new life in Sweden: a job, an apartment and prospects. All is not what it seems...
Soon-Young is a young girl who is the head of her family. She lives with her mentally handicapped father, unscrupulous uncle and younger sister Soon-Ja who is always ill. Younger sister Soon-Ja plays with her Barbie doll everyday and dreams of one day living in the United States. Meanwhile, Mang-Taek comes into contact with an American man interested in adopting a healthy Korean girl...
A young girl is caught up in the 1980 Gwangju massacre, where Korean soldiers killed hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters who opposed the country's takeover by the military the year before. Flashbacks show the girl seeing her mother shot to death in the massacre. The film spurred the Korean public to demand the truth behind the incident, and their government eventually opened previously classified files on the massacre...
"Laughing Water - Mine Ha-Ha" is based on "Mine-Haha or Physical Education of Young Girls" by German author Frank Wedekind. Thuringia, Germany, in the early 20th century. A group of young girls are brought up in a college withinh dark forests and gloomy lakes. Young Hidalla and her friends Irene, Vera, Blanka, Melusine and Rain are brought up in an isolated world: the girls don't know anything about live outside the college's high walls...
Parallel stories of Eros set in 200 B.C. Nomadic shepherds, plagued by drought, happen on a fishing encampment with plentiful fresh water. The local men are away but will return when it rains; the shepherds stay to refresh their flock until the rain comes. A shepherd lad and a local girl, both on the verge of puberty, start a mating dance. Also, one of the shepherds approaches a beautiful local woman, inviting her to sleep with him...
A mother and her eleven year old daughter only know a life of poverty and living in run down motels. Their fate is to descend further into misery and secluded sadness. Mother a prostitute. Once ...
The siblings Joseph and Chloe are 12 and have just been placed on another children's home. For years they were on the same or separate homes or on the run together. Chloe is an autist. She does not talk, feels panic when touched, and eats only when told so. Joseph dearly loves her and firmly thinks she needs him. The child psychiatrist agrees that he has a very positive influence...
The main character is a nameless boy who was taught to steal wallets by his absent mother. He is able to do the trick effortlessly, using his "earnings" to survive while he looks for his mom. As he runs into an antique store owner, he might have found a trace that will lead to her. First, however, he will have to pull off a few "jobs" for the store owner, and he can't do it alone...