Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.

All of Europe was affected by the Great Depression of the 1930s, but some parts were hurt less badly than others. France, for instance, was relatively prosperous. In this grim drama, a sturdy Polish boxer and his family have settled into a mining town in northern France because that's where the work is. Like European "guest workers" in the 1990s, the Polish immigrants then were frequently treated badly by the locals. In this drama, the romantic aspirations of the boxer's son are thwarted by the concerted efforts of the local men and his own family's preference that he marry another Polish girl. After his romance fails, the son becomes a union activist and sacrifices a great deal to try to gain higher wages for the miners, but the contract he works out is reneged on by the duplicitous owners.

A story about love and hatred, about those who cheat and who are cheated, about violence and sex and surprising secrets which we learn within these strange twenty four hours.

Ela is a rebellious artist struggling with the deep gray everyday life of Poland in the 1980's, including family problems and personal demons originating in bipolar disorder.

A young priest speaks out against the Communist regime in Poland and is killed for it.

Twenty years old prostitute and drug addict, Jola, by chance meets Andrzej, a "railway station gay". They try to stay together, in spite of numerous diffculties. They both are carriers of the HIV virus. At the end of their travels they find themselves in the Red Palace - formerly the recreation centre for Party dignitaries, now a home for AIDS sufferers - which is run by father Jan. In the nearby small town aggression begins to grow again the unwanted guests; the house have been promised to the local people for housing purposes... The lives and fates of Jola, Andrzej, and father Jan become increasingly intertwined with one another...

Julie's son is dying of cancer and her marriage falling apart. She goes to Poland in search of a man who can heal using his hands. Julie finds not only a magical cure for her son, but also comes across a love so pure it begins to heal the aching in her heart.

One day Grandpa Jeremi causes such a commotion in the retirement home that he is threatened with transfer to a psychiatric hospital. Marta, his daughter, agrees to take him in, although this is difficult for her, since Jeremi is unpredictable and has a vivid imagination. The situation is complicated by Jagoda, Marta’s daughter, who adores her grandfather and shares his crazy ideas. When Jeremi refuses to live with the family, Jagoda decides to take matters into her own hands.

The Polish artist Julia and her husband Piotr, a talented and successful composer, live in Kraków. When Julias's mother, Barbara falls ill with stomach cancer, the life of the family is falling apart. Julia accompanies her mother to death, but her husband Piotr is at rehearsals in Cologne and leaves her to cope with this difficult situation. Only her friend Adrian is at her side. Her father Jurek is also overwhelmed by the impending loss of his beloved wife. After the death of the mother her father takes comfort from alcohol. Shortly after the father dies. Julia found only in the arms of Adrian to rest, but this in turn destroyed her marriage to Piotr. After the loss of the parents and break up of the marriage she is now alone in the world with an uncertain future where Adrian is of little help

Lazowski, an expelled university student, investigates the supposed suicide of the famous artist Witkacy and tries to prove that the artist is in fact still alive.