
A tremendous congestion hit the Roma highway ring. The biggest traffic jam ever seen endures for more than 36 hours. People blocked in their cars react at the beginning normally. But the more the time advance the more we are witness of personal dramas, hysteric reactions and more. All the episodes are linked like one only plot. Cars and their hosts are a microcosm of stories part of a major universe: the congestion.
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Drama
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962) Vincente Minnelli, Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Drama, War

In Argentina, the family man Julio Madariaga is the patriarch of his family and considers his farm the paradise on Earth. One of his daughters, Luisa Desnoyers, has married the Frenchman immigrant Marcelo Desnoyers and they have one son, the playboy Julio, and one daughter, the gorgeous student of Sorbonne Chi Chi. His other daughter, Elena von Hartrott, has married the German Karl von Hartrott, and they have three sons: Heinrich, Gustav and Franz. In 1938, Heinrich returns from Germany for a family reunion and when he tells that he has joined the SS, the displeased Julio Madariaga has a heart attack and dies. When France is occupied by the Germans, the family reunites in Paris and Franz is the Nazi administrator in France. The alienated Julio has a studio where he paints, and has a love affair with Marguerite Laurier, the wife of the owner of a newspaper Etienne Laurier that is fighting in Belgium. Meanwhile Chi Chi joins the French resistance and is arrested.
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Shunpu den / Story of a Prostitute (1965) Seijun Suzuki, Tamio Kawachi, Yumiko Nogawa, Isao Tamagawa, Drama, War

In WW2 Manchuria, a prostitute grows to resent an abusive adjutant and falls in love with his aide.
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The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004) Asia Argento, Dylan Sprouse, Cole Sprouse, Drama

The dysfunctional twenty-three years old Sarah takes her six year old natural son Jeremiah from the home of his beloved foster parents with the support of the social service to live with her. Along the years, the boy shares her insane and lowlife style and is introduced to booze and drugs and mentally, physically and sexually abused by Sarah, her lovers and her religiously fanatic family.
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Station / Eki (1981) Yasuo Furuhata, Ken Takakura, Chieko Baishô, Ayumi Ishida, Drama

A very beautiful film. This is a Ken Takakura vehicle, and as such follows his formula. Takakura plays to type as the laconic brooder who suffers multiple tragedies with manly stoicism. While the variety of his film varied greatly, his films with director Yasuo Furuhata were always of the highest quality, and this is no exception. Takakura is a cop training to be a sharpshooter for the Olympic games, he divorces his wife and abandons his daughter when he discovers she’s had an affair. Later his coach is gunned down by a fleeing criminal. Years later Takakura returns to his snowy hometown and starts an affair with a middle-aged bar owner. The story is a bit thick, with a number of subplots, yet it is extrordinarily melancholic, as Takakura seems to regret everything he’s done in his life and is made over and over again to relive his mistakes. There is very little “action” as such, and no yakuzas of any kind; but beyond that this is one of the most lushly beautiful and emotional films you can see (if you can see it), with an excellent score by Ryudo Uzaki.
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Un carnet de bal / Dance Program (1937) Julien Duvivier, Marie Bell, Françoise Rosay, Louis Jouvet, Drama

After the death of her husband, Christine realizes she has possibly wasted her life by marrying him instead of the man towards whom, in her youth, she had a stronger inclination. To overcome these dreary thoughts, she decides to find out about him and the other men who danced with her during a ball that was a turning point in her life, many years ago. She pays a visit to those forgotten acquaintances one after the other; Christine is not only surprised to see how they have fared, but also discovers the impact she had, unknowingly, on the feelings and the destiny of these persons.
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Minagoroshi no reika / I, the Executioner (1968) Tai Katô, Chieko Baishô, Yuki Kawamura, Sanae Nakahara, Drama

Police investigators investigate the link between a serial killer’s machinations and a young man who committed suicide after five women raped him.
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The Stratton Story (1949) Sam Wood, James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Biography, Drama, Romance

The movie is about Chicago White Sox pitcher Monty Stratton (Jimmy Stewart), who in the 1930s, compiled a 37-19 won-loss record in three seasons. After he became the winningest right-hander in the American League, his major league career ended prematurely when a hunting accident in 1938 forced doctors to amputate his right leg. With a wooden leg and his wife Ethel’s (June Allyson) help, Stratton made a successful minor league comeback in 1946, continuing to pitch in minor leagues throughout the rest of the 1940s and into the 1950s.
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Toward the Unknown (1956) Mervyn LeRoy, William Holden, Lloyd Nolan, Virginia Leith, Drama, History, Romance

The story of a US Air Force major who was captured during the Korean War, and cracked signing a confession. After his release he ultimately arrives at Edwards Air Force base and works for his old buddy, now base commander. And runs into an old love forming the romantic triangle sub plot. But the main story line is the testing of high speed aircraft and the two main characters restoring their trust in each other. The aviation story line centers on the testing of the testing of the Gilbert XF-120 fighter, which suffers structural problems. And who will test the rocket powered X-2, designed to fly to the edge of space.
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L’amore nascosto / Hidden Love (2007) Alessandro Capone, Isabelle Huppert, Greta Scacchi, Mélanie Laurent, Drama

The secrets and hidden pain of a woman recovering from a suicide attempt reveal themselves through a series of sessions with her psychiatrist.
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