Romania had it rough under its last communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, and things are even rougher now. Before, their problems were oppression and poverty. Now, their problem is mostly poverty - and plenty of it. In this grim comedy (to call it a black comedy would be to paint too perky a picture of it), Vasile (Gheorghe Dinica)has a wife whom he's fond of, and a mistress, whom he's fonder of. He manages a nearly abandoned movie theater, and makes just about nothing doing it. When his wife announces she's pregnant, he nearly goes frantic trying to find money to get her an abortion. However, what truly sends him over the edge is when his mistress decides to become a prostitute because, after all, the money is good. These two situations send him straight to the loony bin, and when he gets out, he discovers that his wife has rented their apartment to pornographic filmmakers, and guess who's starring in them?

An old man and an old woman each have a girl. Influenced by old woaman, the old man compared to banish their home, and it goes in the world. Because of its virtues, she will gain from Holy Friday a box full of riches. Jealous, old woman's daughter and she is looking to get a gift from the Holy Friday, but because of its flaws will only get out of trouble.

A typesetter is in search of an anonymous hero that saved two children.

In late 19th century, a Transylvanian revolutionary fleeing the Imperial authorities goes to Italy where he meets a beautiful soprano who later disappears under mysterious circumstances.

A Romanian village in the 50s. Năiţă Lucean, a cunning and stubborn peasant, opposes the collectivization process using all possible artifice. He instinctively feels that signing his land and cattle over to the state can only bring bad times for him. His only certainty is the ownership of this insufficient and barren plot of land. Although he strongly opposes it, the idea of the collective good is forcibly enforced.