1888: a luthier, Vedder, has to step aside when his home, opposite the recently completed Central Station in Amsterdam, must yield for the planned Victoria Hotel. His cousin Anijs, pharmacist in the Northern provinces of the Netherlands, has gotten into a fix after illegal medical practices, and is looking for a way out. For himself and his wife Martha, but also for a colony of poor peat cutters whom he promises a future in the United States. Committed - or is it pride? - the two of them think up a scheme from which they all will fully benefit. With tragic consequences.
Experienced detective August is given the heavy responsibility of solving a series of murders of young girls. He is convinced that Frank, a mild-mannered biology teacher and key witness in the case, is the real culprit.
In the run-up to Christmas, a family completely misses the point in trying to be good. Brechtje, the mother of the family, gets cancelled by everyone, without understanding why. Her husband, Martijn, falls in love with his younger colleague, but true love can’t be denied (or so he thinks). Justus, the son-in-law, gets lost on a Don Quichotesque quest for his masculinity. While Jos, the middle child, changes the world around with her tolerance and open mindedness – until her girlfriend wants to have a threesome. And all of that happens just before their annual Christmas dinner.
Nothing will stop Bonnie, an ambitious plastic surgeon, from getting ahead in a world that is all about beauty and esteem.
Boy ('the helper') tells the story of an invisible member of our society, an illegal Filipino cleaner. He has no name. Moving continuously from one location to the other, he is living between being seen and being invisible, between his life with his boyfriend, an erotic dancer, and his role as financial provider of his family back home. All this changes when his boyfriend auditions for a dance-company and one of his employers commits suicide. A charming photographer shows interest in him. He wants him as a model for a photo series.
When Willie (60) gets his annual chance to become the new 'king of the Schutterij of Limburgia', he goes all in to finally receive the pride and glory attached to the title. But despite meticulous preparations, all goes wrong for Willie on the big day.
One evening, a blind woman comes out of her car with a tear-stained face. In a flashback, we see the preceding events. She sits on a swing and falls for a man's voice who asks her for directions. But she does not want to touch his face. As a girl, she could fantasise about her face, until she touched it. Now, she fears the same with the man.
When Louise (70) and Max (72) meet, it is love at first sight: they abandon their sleepy lives and travel to the South of France, where they become the terrors of the 'Route du Soleil'. They rip off naïve tourists with their act as a sad old couple: a second youth that goes further than their wildest dreams. Based on a true story.
When Aunt Judeska goes into lockdown on the estate of the family of the Deputy Prime Minister this creates tensions that culminate in a hilarious battle between the two camps.
