2004
Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day...
1989
The avenging angel of Marvel Comics fame comes brilliantly to life in this searing action-adventure thriller! Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, a veteran cop who loses his entire family to a mafia car bomb. His ex-partner believes Castle survived the blast and became the Punisher, living in the sewers and exacting vigilante violence against mob bosses throughout the city. When the populace is caught in the midst of a gang war that he caused, Castle must again emerge from the shadows and save the innocent.
2008
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
2007
Two fathers' lives intersect when one of them is involved in a terrible and sudden hit-and-run car accident that leaves the other's son dead. In response, the two men react in unexpected ways as a reckoning looms in the near future.
A policeman leads a well-ordered life with his wife and 18-year-old daughter. The apparent idyll is abruptly shattered when the daughter is linked to the murder of two police officers, both colleagues of the father. While the daughter remains resolutely silent about the accusations while in custody, the father sees the illusion of his intact family fade more and more.
1997
While escaping from a foiled robbery attempt, three thieves find themselves surrounded by police at a New Orleans bar--only they're not the people the police are searching for.
Air traffic controller Markus Hofer is partly to blame for a collision between two airplanes in which 83 people lost their lives. Although the incident happened a year ago, he still blames himself, which his wife Franziska can only bear by having affairs. Erik Loth, on the other hand, is full of revenge, having lost his wife and daughter in the disaster and is now determined to kill the pilot responsible. Police officer Harald was on duty on the night of the accident and has been unable to get the images out of his head ever since. One evening, the television reports on the murder of Markus Hofer. Harald knows Erik, the man who killed him, and now thinks he sees him everywhere...
In several unrelated stories, the consequences of putting one's foot down – or failing to do so – are explored.
