Otto, a seventeen-year-old punk, becomes involved in the social services investigation of his girlfriend Laura’s death. He is caught up in a vicious circle created by his parents, his mute grandpa and Laura’s mother. Laura is still part of his life through video recordings that he edits constantly, trying to make sense of the events. Through this process, Otto must take his portion of the responsibility for what happened.
While fully enjoying the life of the 70's, in communist Romania, a young man is arrested and accused of a terrible crime. Freed a few years later and deeply affected by his sinister experience, he tries to find out what had really happened.
For many years, three Romanian village boys, Stelica, Aurel and Mitu, have remained the closest of friends. In their youths, they planned to pursue careers as shepherds, but in time their individual paths diverged - leading Mitu into the military, Stelica into the local police force and Aurel into the employ of Maricel, a wealthy resident of the community. The men's worlds change forever when a newcomer arrives in the hamlet - a young woman named Lilica, accompanied by Maricel. She's toting two trucks full of Dutch chickens with her, which inadvertently spreads the bird flu to much of the local populace. The boys, however, soon realize how they can ingeniously turn this potential crisis into a solid profit-making venture for themselves.
The son of Pantalone, the honest Venetian merchant, Lelio Bisognosi, the liar, is a brilliant young man wandering the world. For twenty years he lived with an uncle in Naples, then returned to his native city with his servant Arlecchino. Here, he has the opportunity to meet Dr. Balanzoni's daughters, Rosaura and Beatrice, while, in the absence of their father, they enjoy being serenaded by an unknown admirer on the terrace of the house. The author of the serenade is Florindo, a student and tenant of the doctor, who shyly loves Rosaura, not daring to reveal his feelings. Lelio does not miss the opportunity: he introduces himself to the girls in the guise of a rich marquis and claims that he is the author of the serenade, without revealing which of the two he is in love with. But for the sake of the art of "spiritual inventions", Lelio delights in describing himself in various lies, not without undesirable consequences...
On a hot summer day, Vasile, a 50-something year old peasant, refuses to accompany his wife Lucretia to a religious ceremony arguing he has to finish the ditch in front of their house to avoid paying a fine. Scared by the hard work ahead of him, he tries to find somebody to help him. Petre, a Gypsy young man seems to be the right person. After changing a few words with him, Vasile notices that Petre is upset because none of the villagers wants to be the Godfather for his kid. Vasile decides to baptize the child himself asking Petre in exchange to help him finish the ditch. In the evening, Lucretia learns about Vasile's decision and a new ordinary domestic fight starts between them.
Three sequences which could have formed separate stories are linked together to give a larger perspective on the nature of reality and film. The three episodes are joined together by one film crew at work. In the beginning, the crew is introduced as they juggle their dual roles as State-supported propagandists who laud their government and society, and as private movie makers working on their own film. Next, they are in a restaurant looking for suitable locations to film when the eatery’s owner is induced to wax long and lugubriously on his miserable life. In the last segment, two extras are in the background of a scene, sitting at a table in a restaurant. It slowly becomes apparent to one of them that the man he’s sitting with tortured him more than 40 years ago at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.
In order to make a living, old Nica turns her country house into an anemic, bankrupt "pension". Her only joys are her dog's chirping and the TV news program. Out of loneliness, she sometimes imagines herself the heroine of a soap opera: secretly, Nica is in love with the news anchor Paul. The old woman decides to take a trip to Bucharest, where her daughter, Tuta, a nurse, lives with her concubine, Jenel, and Marilena, her 15-year-old daughter. In the capital, her passion for Paul takes paroxysmal forms. Nica monopolizes the remote control to stay on the same TV channel for which Paul presents the news, which will attract the family's irony. She even goes so far as to look for her "beggar" at the TV station, writes to him, exposing herself to humiliation and mockery. But she resists until illness and shame bring her down. Everything culminates in the old woman's attempt to commit suicide...
Young Doina has a car accident. In intensive care, the doctor, Vali, calls her time of death but discovers that the child she was carrying is still alive. Wishing to save its life, the doctor puts the mother on artificial life support. Just then, Bebe, the supposed father of the unborn child, enters the scene. A former teacher and mountain climber, Bebe will soon fall in love with the doctor...
In "Spaces #2", 7 internationally acclaimed directors shot, after commissioning by the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, a short film at home, making their own timely comment on the new reality that we live in. The project is inspired by the book "Species of Spaces" by the French novelist, filmmaker, documentalist, and essayist, Georges Perec and the days of quarantine. The idea is to create a film at home, using the environment, the people or the animals in that space. The only outdoor areas that may be used are outdoor living spaces, such as the terrace, the garden, the balcony and the stairwell. "A Fable" is Radu Jude's submission.
An old geriatrics professor accidentally discovers after a high-school reunion a potion that can rejuvenate anybody and uses it on him and his friends. They all go their new youthful ways but, for most of them, things don't go according to plan.
A young communist returns to a small provincial town.
Two parallel stories about unhappy marriages that take place during inter-war period in the Banat village within Romanian ethnic minority in Serbia.
A man stands outside an apartment building, lighting a cigarette. He goes inside. As he rings the bell at the 4th floor, a woman answers and lets him in. The alarm rings. The man and woman wake up. He takes out the garbage. She makes breakfast. After breakfast, he packs his suitcase and leaves. He goes outside. He lights a cigarette. After that, he goes inside. He rings the bell at the 8th floor. A woman answers and lets him in. A week later. The alarm rings. The man and woman wake up. He takes out the garbage. She prepares him breakfast. He goes back inside and rings the bell at the 4th floor... Written by Bram Wijngaarden
Security guard Aurel (Andi Vasluianu) and his wife Irene have a moderately happy marriage and a moderately comfortable lifestyle in urban Romania. Irene takes a working trip to Cairo and returns invigorated with the swell of success. She sets out again and never returns. What follows is both predictable and unpredictable. Aurel, and the audience, are suspicious of the official explanation of her death so the foundation is laid for the traditional who-dunnit. Aurel proceeds on an emotional search against all odds.
In his struggle to innovate in an industrial plant, Professor Oltenu discovers, through laboratory research, a new technique that could be very useful in turning iron ore into better steel and products made from it. His experiments don't always yield the best results, especially when he is "helped" in his endeavors by a saboteur. The professor's wife and one of his employees help expose the saboteur and convince the professor to continue his work. Eventually the saboteurs are caught and severely punished, and the professor's research is patented and turned into successful manufacturing nanotechnology.
A story about a young boy and his adventurous holidays out of town.
Engineer Bunea, a site manager, neglects his personal life in favor of his professional duties. But going through a crisis of conscience, he wants to give up the responsibilities of his job and tries to find a more peaceful job.
A short film documenting the city of Bucharest, The Carpathian mountains, Brasov and Various castles in Romania including Bran and Peles Castle.
At the end of summer, Laura, aged 60, goes on vacation with an old friend to a village on the Bulgarian coast. The appearance of a stranger disturbs what was supposed to be a peaceful vacation.
Fascinated by the idea of creating an industrial inter-collective farm garden, scientist Andrei Barbu interrupts his work at the institute and moves to the district...
