Antwerp in the fifties. Robin de Hert grew up in a Catholic parochial environment; on the one hand there is his authoritarian father and the sadistic secretary of the Catholic boys technical school, on the other hand there are the 'Grieten' and the French teacher with whom Robin is getting a good band through a secret they share. If the secretary finds out about this secret, this has major implications for both the teacher and the students ...
While escaping from Nazis during the WWII, a Jewish man dug suitcases full of things dear to his heart in the ground two. The war deprived him of his family, and afterwards he endlessly turns over the soil of Antwerp to find the suitcases, which makes him look obsessed. He keeps checking old maps and keeps digging, trying to find, in fact, those he lost. His daughter Chaya is a beautiful modern girl looking for a part-time job. She finds a place as a nanny in the strictly observant Chassidic family with many children, although her secular manners clearly fly in the face of many commandments. One of the reasons she is accepted is that mother of the family is absolutely overburdened by the household, so she stays despite the resistance of the father, normally - an indisputable authority in the family. She develops a special bond with the youngest of the boys, four-year old Simcha, so far incapable of speaking.
Tony is a homosexual law student who quits his studies. With a van and a handful of cash, he hits the road hoping to become a salesman. This, however, turns out to be harder than he expected.
A story about two struggling people who are trying to find their own place in the world. He is a small-time crook recently released from prison and she is a prostitute craving some love and affection. They find each other in an obscure part of Gent. Jean-Claude is responsible for their meeting ; he is also an ex-inmate who has just traded the low-life crime scene for life as a pimp. Will their love survive?
