In a miserable, freezing two-room apartment on the first floor of a building, the Ruòppolo family lives in complete poverty. Giovanni, a clerk, struggles against a thousand difficulties to make ends meet, while his wife, Cristina, takes care of the housework.
Eduardo De Filippo
Pupella Maggio
Clelia Matania
Graziella Marina
Nina De Padova
Pietro De Vico
Enzo Cannavale
Pietro Carloni
In a miserable, freezing two-room apartment on the first floor of a building, the Ruòppolo family lives in complete poverty. Giovanni, a clerk, struggles against a thousand difficulties to make ends meet, while his wife, Cristina, takes care of the housework.
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
Giacinto lives with his wife, their ten children and various other family members in a shack on the hills of Rome. Some time ago he has lost his left eye while at work, and got a consistent sum of money from the insurance company, which he keeps hidden from the rest of the family. His whole life is now based on defending the money he sees as his own, while the rest of the family tries to kill him.
A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.
In trouble with the local authorities, Mabel Simmons, notoriously known as Madea, is on the run from the law. With no place to turn, she moves in with her friend Bam who is recovering from surgery. Unbeknownst to Bam however, Madea is only using the "concerned friend" gag as a way to hide out from the police.
A modest Neapolitan man meets a young woman with excessive hairiness. He exhibits her at fairs and marries her. It is after marriage that he receives a tempting offer from a French manager.
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
This is the story of a dysfunctional New York family, and their attempts to reconcile
In Italy, Checco Dal Monte manages a troupe of traveling performers with plenty of heart but minimal talent. At a small town engagement, he encounters the starry-eyed, gorgeous Lily Antonelli, and hires her as a dancer on the show. Vivacious Lily quickly sells out crowds and earns the resentment of Checco's mistress, Melina Amour, but the fledgling performer has far bigger ambitions and soon sets her sights on a higher-profile role.
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
The film follows Nello, the recently hired director of a newly developed work cooperative of former mental patients. After the closure of state psychiatric hospitals and asylums in Italy under the Basaglia Law many former patients were left with few resources and little hope of reintegrating into society. With the intention of actually improving the lives of his pupils, rather than just sedating them, Nello encourages them to expand their individual abilities and explore the wider world around them although, regardless of intention, there is sometimes a price to pushing boundaries too quickly.