The film begins with Ernie using his ingenuity to overcome his poverty and find a way to feed his little sister Farina and his steed, Dinah the mule. He encounters Jackie, who is selling newspapers, and learns about a kidnapper who is at large. Ernie then stumbles into a secret meeting of several young boys, including Mickey Daniels and Jack Davis, who call themselves the JJJ’s (Jesse James Juniors). They tell him that he is unwelcome in their meeting unless he can tell them what good deed he has ever done. He responds by spinning a long, and very unbelievable, tall tale of how he, Jackie, and Dinah rescued Peggy from the kidnappers. At the end of his story he claims that he used his reward money to buy a whole town, name it Free Town, and make himself Mayor and Jackie the Chief of Police. It is a beautiful town where all the children have plenty to eat, have nice clothes, and can have all the cake and candy they want. The story, and the film, ends with reality as Ernie’s mother finds him and hauls him and Farina back home.
Dans les années soixante, Riichi est un petit garçon turbulent qui, dans sa désobéissance et sa désinvolture, tient de son père, un bon à rien qui se laisse vivre au crochet de sa femme. Le couple vit avec le grand père un homme qui s’occupe et partage quelques bêtises avec son petit fils. Riichi forme avec Gasu et Kôtetsu une petite bande qui a maille à partir avec un autre gang de gosses. Un jour la situation familiale se détériore et la mère décide de quitter le foyer laissant les deux hommes et le petit garçon par eux-mêmes. Riichi décident alors de partir lui aussi avec ses deux copains vers une île.
Jonathan Younger owns a self-storage facility. He has a strained relationship with wife Penny, a plain and skittish woman who is startled by a noise Jonathan makes and dies from a heart attack.
Brenda Andersen (Barbara Eden) is an overprotective single mother from Iowa, who does not want her 18-year-old son Jimmy (David Kaufman) to follow in the footsteps of her late husband (who died in a parachute accident in Vietnam) by becoming an Airborne paratrooper in the US Army. Instead she sends him off to college, and then moves to Alaska to take up a new job. But once she moves, Jimmy leaves college and enlists in the army. He initially keeps this a secret, and only tells her after he's completed basic training and is about to begin Airborne parachute training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Yeong-soo et Min-jeong, la quarantaine, sans occupation notable, vivent en couple, chez lui. Leur relation dépérit depuis qu'ils ont décidé d'arrêter de boire. Elle boit sans lui dans certain débit de boisson. Après une scène, elle décide d'arrêter de se fréquenter, et retourner habiter chez elle. Il souffre de cette séparation, en témoigne une douleur à la jambe, qui exige un grand pansement, des béquilles, et entraîne une sorte de dépression. Pendant qu'il la cherche, croit la retrouver, rêve d'une reprise, elle est le plus souvent dans un bar à lire un roman et à boire un peu. Un homme disponible s'intéresse à elle, engage la discussion, et commence une relation tendue. Elle prétend qu'elle est sa jumelle, et ne peut avoir aucun souvenir. Ils se revoient, puis se séparent. Un autre homme, cinéaste, disponible... Enfin, Yeong-soo finit par la rencontrer, et accepte son jeu ou son amnésie. Et ils recommencent pour la première fois. Des individus, isolés, esseulés, absents, vivent mal leur manque de relation, se croisent, sans souvenir avoué, sans espoir d'avenir, dans le présent, à tâtons, «ivres d'amours et de virtualités» (Mathieu Macheret) .
Septuagenarian best friends Fred Ballinger and Mick Boyle are on vacation in the Swiss Alps, staying at a luxury resort. Fred is a retired composer of classical music; at the hotel, he is approached by an emissary for Queen Elizabeth II to perform his popular piece "Simple Songs" at Prince Philip's birthday concert. Fred turns down the offer, claiming he is not interested in performing anymore – although he still composes pieces in his head when alone. Mick is a filmmaker, and is working with a group of writers to develop the screenplay for his latest film, which he calls his "testament". Also with them is actor Jimmy Tree, who is researching for an upcoming role and frustrated that he is only remembered for his role as a robot. The hotel is inhabited by other quirky individuals, including a young masseuse, an overweight Maradona, and Miss Universe.
A man is tasked with driving his embittered 80-year-old father-in-law cross country to be legally euthanized in Oregon, while along the way helping him rediscover a reason for living.