Italian maestro Ermanno Olmi tells the tale of the journey of the Magi in this lyrical odyssey. The film focuses on a wise man who interprets his sighting of a comet streaking through the sky as a spiritual message. Joined by two associates, soldiers, villagers and others, the Magi sets out on a journey that tests his beliefs and strength.

Rome, 1870. Opponents of the church power are being sent to prison. Some of the exhausted prisoners are asking for the mercy of Pope. Others, like Augusto Parenti, prefer to fight for their rights until the end. His wife, Teresa is a simple woman, who gets involved with the rebels.

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

A great Party is given by the rich family of Improta. Every kind of intrigue gets around this party. The purpose of every plan is to find a husband or a wife with a quality: wealth.

Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.

Ugly, persistent, and (initially) annoying admirer pursues a beautiful actress. At first he is laughed of, especially by his ultra handsome rival, but with his firm insistence, and gradually emerging charm, he seduces the lady, to the total shocked surprise of his rival.

Maria and Paul love them, but they are very young and, moreover, Maria is the daughter of the municipal sweeper while Paul is the lawyer Bonelli, vice mayor and head of the opposition. To complicate the story there is the reconstruction of a hermitage destroyed during the war. Reconstruction would take the view of the Paseroni villa, big industrial and political traffic. Bonelli's lawyer, a great speaker, becomes a mayor for the death of his predecessor and is bought by Paseroni, while rejecting the love of Paul and Mary for social differences and why Paul should stay behind Doddy Paseroni. At this point, Paul and Mary flee to kill, just as Bonelli has to hold a talk on the radio for the inauguration of Paseroni's villa ...

Tanino, who lives in a village without a cemetery, goes to a deputy to obtain the land necessary for the cemetery.

A struggling model concocts a story of being raped and beaten by three strangers and soon becomes a media darling. Complications arise when the police eventually arrest three suspects.

A photographer named Corrado snaps a picture of Antonietta. When it shows up on the front page of a magazine, she wants to take him to court over it.

In post-war Italy, some pilots of the Air Force, despite the difficulties in which they are forced to operate, manage to form an acrobatic squadron. From the dedication of these men will be born the "Frecce Tricolori", the Italian Air Force's acrobatic squadron.

A group of rich young intellectuals hiding from the war in rural Italy play at being partisans when some disbanded soldiers and some refugees ask them for shelter in their villa. The young and aristocratic Andrea strikes up a friendship with a peasant girl, Lucia. Then the Germans suddenly appear, looking for the real partisans, and the time comes for serious decisions.

When young and attractive Lina Stroppiani, a thief like the rest of her family, tries to steal the taxi of Paolo, together with two accomplices, she can't possibly know that this will have far reaching consequences.