Four vignettes, each set in different decades from the 1950s through the 1980s, deal with protagonists at different stages of life between childhood and young adulthood.

Set in China during the 1940s, story told through the eyes of a 10 year old boy of the relationship between the boy, his mysterious nanny and her weakling godbrother.

Arriving in Taiwan in the 1950s, Kuei-mei makes a disadvantageous marriage to a widower with three unruly kids and a bad gambling habit. Beautifully portrayed by celebrated actress Yang, she weathers pregnancies, her husband's infidelity, her daughter's resentment, a stint as servant in Japan, divorce, and illness while struggling to keep the family restaurant business afloat.

Wu Linfang, an immigrant from the mainland to Taiwan more than a hundred years ago, grows from a poor boy to a leader who instructs villagers to open oil wells

An adaptation of Xuan Xiaofo’s novel of the same name

An Zhuo is a shy and polite teenager. His parents are very strict. In addition to normal classes, he has been supervised to learn English, Spanish and violin. Every day is full of classes. However, what he is really interested in is watching the sky with a telescope at night. One day, a super baby from outer space accidentally enters his world. Appears to be in the vein of E.T.

Taiwanese comedy. A large diamond named "The Light of Shanghai" is given as a gift to the boss of Shanghai Beach, a local gang, and it triggers a battle among the thief Luo Ping, the prostitute Su San, and others

A low-key film about a mother's relationship with her growing son. The middle-class Mrs. Pan lives in Taipei, is married to a mainlander, and has two children, her son Han-sheng and a younger daughter Han-lin

A low-key film about a mother's relationship with her growing son. The middle-class Mrs. Pan lives in Taipei, is married to a mainlander, and has two children, her son Han-sheng and a younger daughter Han-lin