Pédale dure (2004)

Everyone's Life

Before being judges, attorneys, or jury members, they are first of all men and women at a crossroads in their lives, with their dreams and their secrets, their hopes and their limitations, all beneath the same sun, each with their own dark side. In a lovely provincial town, during a jazz festival, life will juggle with their destinies.

President

State secrets, sincere convictions, ecstatic crowds, a regal lifestyle, prying journalists, suspicious disappearances: what goes on behind the scenes in the halls of power or the daily life of a President.

The Grad Job

Teenagers, in their last year of High School, steel the subjects of the Baccalaureate from the education exam division in order to succeed at the exam.

The Woman of My Life

Simon, a famous violinist, sinks into alcoholism. He finds support from his lover, who is also the manager of the orchestra in which he plays. But is she really helping him or is she exploiting his dependence on her? A man who has been through the same experience as Simon, offers to help him...

The Do-Gooders

Three former bank robbers are meeting after 25 years...

Ils se sont aimés

After "They love each other", Michèle Laroque and Pierre Palmade try to answer the question "Is there a life after divorce?", through the story of Isabelle and Martin, a couple in crisis.

Parasite

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

Chopping Mall

High-tech robots equipped with state-of-the-art security devices have been recruited as the new mechanical "night watchmen" for the Park Plaza Mall. When a jolting bolt of lightning short-circuits the main computer control, the robots turn into "killbots" on the loose after unsuspecting shoppers!

The Greatest Night in Pop

On a January night in 1985, music's biggest stars gathered to record "We Are the World." This documentary goes behind the scenes of the historic event.

Cobra Verde

A fearsome 19th century bandit, Cobra Verde cuts a swath through Brazil until he arrives at the sugar plantation of Don Octávio Countinho. Not knowing that his new guest is the notorious bandit and impressed by his ruthless ways, Don Octávio hires Cobra Verde to oversee his slaves. But when Cobra Verde impregnates Don Octávio’s three daughters, the incensed plantation owner exiles the outlaw to Africa where he is expected to reopen the slave trade. Following his trans-Atlantic journey, Cobra Verde exploits tribal conflicts to commandeer an abandoned fortress and whips an army of naked warriors into a frenzied bloodlust as he vies for survival.

The Fantastic 4: First Steps

Against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel's First Family is forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, while defending Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer.

Gramps Is in the Resistance

It is 1943 in Paris. Like so many others, the Bourbelle family's home has been taken over by the Germans and they now live in their cellar. Little do they know that the son, Guy-Hubert Bourdelle, is far from being the cowardly hairdresser he pretends. He is in truth the Germans’ most feared opponent: le super-résistant!

To Sir, with Love

A British Guianese engineer starts a job as a high school teacher in London’s East End, where his uninterested and delinquent pupils are in desperate need of attention and care.

Black Sabbath

Three short tales of supernatural horror. In “The Telephone,” a woman is plagued by threatening phone calls. In "The Wurdalak,” a family is preyed upon by vampiric monsters. In “The Drop of Water,” a deceased medium wreaks havoc on the living.

Apartment 7A

A struggling young dancer finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected older couple promise her a shot at fame.

Cold Prey

When one of them breaks a leg, five friends snowboarding in the Norwegian mountains take shelter in an abandoned ski lodge and soon realize they’re not alone.

The Guest Room

The morning Stella decides to take her own life, a stranger knocks at her door claiming the guest room he booked for the night. Surprised but charmed by this man who seems to know her very well, Stella decides to let him in. But when Sandro, the man who broke Stella's heart, joins them at home, this odd situation turns immediately into chaos.

Shirley

A famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.

Demons 2

A group of tenants and visitors are trapped in a 10-story high-rise apartment building infested with demons who proceed to hunt the dwindling humans down.

Autumn Sonata

After a seven-year absence, Charlotte Andergast travels to Sweden to reunite with her daughter Eva. The pair have a troubled relationship: Charlotte sacrificed the responsibilities of motherhood for a career as a classical pianist. Over an emotional night, the pair reopen the wounds of the past. Charlotte gets another shock when she finds out that her mentally impaired daughter, Helena, is out of the asylum and living with Eva.

The Saragossa Manuscript

During the Napoleonic wars, a Spanish officer and an opposing officer find a book written by the former's grandfather.

Prince of Darkness

A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open it, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all of humanity.

Black Bear

At a remote lake house in the Adirondack Mountains, a couple entertains an out-of-town guest looking for inspiration in her filmmaking. The group quickly falls into a calculated game of desire, manipulation, and jealousy, unaware of how dangerously intertwined their lives will soon become.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge

Jesse Walsh moves with his family into the home of the lone survivor from a series of attacks by dream-stalking monster, Freddy Krueger. There, he is bedeviled by nightmares and inexplicably violent impulses.

My Name Is Joe

Two thirtysomethings, unemployed former alcoholic Joe and community health worker Sarah, start a romantic relationship in one of the toughest Glasgow neighbourhoods.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man

A "metal fetishist", driven mad by the maggots wriggling in the wound he's made to embed metal into his flesh, runs out into the night and is accidentally run down by a Japanese businessman and his girlfriend. The pair dispose of the corpse in hopes of quietly moving on with their lives. However, the businessman soon finds that he is now plagued by a vicious curse that transforms his flesh into iron.

The Jokes

In many small episodes, various characters represent the typical vices and comedy of Italian society in early 2000.

The Paper

Henry Hackett is the workaholic editor of a New York City tabloid. He loves his job, but the long hours and low pay are leading to discontent. Also, publisher Bernie White faces financial straits, and has hatchet-man Alicia Clark—Henry's nemesis—impose unpopular cutbacks.

Starry Eyes

A hopeful young starlet uncovers the ominous origins of the Hollywood elite and enters into a deadly agreement in exchange for fame and fortune.

His House

After making a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, a young refugee couple struggle to adjust to their new life in a small English town that has an unspeakable evil lurking beneath the surface.

The Beta Test

An engaged Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter for an anonymous sexual encounter and becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lying, infidelity, and digital data.

Rabid

After undergoing radical surgery for injuries from a motorcycle accident, a young woman develops a retractable, vampiric stinger in her armpit and a thirst for human blood.

Sentinelle

Transferred home after a traumatizing combat mission, a highly trained French soldier uses her lethal skills to hunt down the man who hurt her sister.

The Keep

Set during World War II, a German army garrison is sent to guard a mountain pass in a village in Romania's Carpathian mountains and sets up barracks in an ancient stone fortress. Two of the soldiers unwittingly release a mysterious entity that kills or corrupts those within its influence, drawing the attention of a Gestapo commander, a Jewish scholar, and a mysterious traveller.

Sacred Heart

Irene, a workaholic, is forced to re-evaluate her priorities after the suicide of her two best friends.

An Average Little Man

A middle-aged government accountant is determined to secure a stable job for his son before retiring, willing to go to great lengths to achieve his goal.

Saint Maud

Having recently found God, self-effacing young nurse Maud arrives at a plush home to care for Amanda, a hedonistic dancer left frail from a chronic illness. When a chance encounter with a former colleague throws up hints of a dark past, it becomes clear there is more to sweet Maud than meets the eye.

Ammonite

In 1840s England, palaeontologist Mary Anning and a young woman sent by her husband to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship. Despite the chasm between their social spheres and personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realisation that they are not alone. It is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.

Night of the Demon

American professor John Holden arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

Bubba, an intellectually disabled man, is falsely accused of attacking a young girl. Disguised as a scarecrow, he hides in a cornfield, only to be hunted down and shot by four vigilante men. After they are acquitted due to lack of evidence, the men find themselves being stalked one by one.

To Be or Not to Be

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

Flow

A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.

Shortbus

In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.

Bromance

When three friends go on a camping trip in a remote part of Argentina, sexual tensions quickly bubble to the surface. Once in virtual seclusion by the beach, Juli, also camping at the site, quickly recognises that that the boys seem to have a closer relationship than what she would consider 'normal'. The line between friendship and love fade further for two of the boys in particular as their desire becomes too much to bear. When what started as a simple getaway quickly becomes tinged with sex, romance, and conflict, everyone is forced to confront who they really are for the very first time.

The Full Monty

Sheffield, England. Gaz, a jobless steelworker in need of quick cash persuades his mates to bare it all in a one-night-only strip show.

Go

A supermarket clerk decides to step in for an absent drug dealer, setting off an explosive, comedic chain of events.

Hair

Upon receiving his draft notice and leaving his family ranch in Oklahoma, Claude heads to New York and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to boot camp.

Wonder Boys

Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.

Miss Moneypenny

Ben struggles to focus on the ‘So, will I see you again?’ conversation with Matt. Matt proudly peacocks his bohemian lifestyle, whilst Ben’s mind drifts from James Bond to disaster movies. Will they find common ground, or will they continue with their separate searches for Mr. Right?

Killer Friends

Four friends go on a camping trip that one won't be coming back from alive...

Beautiful Thing

Set during a long, hot summer on the Thamesmead Estate in Southeast London, where three teenagers edge towards adulthood.

Gorgeous

When Ah Bu, a girl from a small fishing town in Taiwan, finds a glass bottle with a romantic message, she travels to Hong Kong to find her prince charming. As it turns out, her prince charming, Albert, happens to be gay. But all is not lost when Ah Bu meets the dashing Chi Wu. Meanwhile, Ah Bu's boyfriend from Taiwan comes looking for her, as the action and romance follow Ah Bu back to Taiwan.

Leo Reich: Literally Who Cares?!

Hot. Young. Cool. Fresh. Ripped. Hilarious. Groundbreaking. Avant-garde. These are just some of the words that comedian and writer Leo Reich uses to describe himself. In his first HBO comedy special, this self-diagnosed important young mind faces the swirling uncertainty of our collective future, asking the big questions, such as: “Is this helping?", “Am I hot?”, and "No offense guys but literally what is going on?"

Between Friends

Jorge asks Noah for a special favor that questions the limits of friendship and his identity.

The Handyman

A single, gay man schemes creative ways to have a hunky repairman continue to have to come back to his house to fix things, but suddenly the fantasies become more than either of them expected.

Boat Trip

Two guys whose love lives are a wreck look forward to finding ladies on the high seas. Unfortunately, they've mistakenly been booked on a gay cruise.

Clueless

Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other. Emboldened by her success, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student Tai a makeover. When Tai becomes more popular than she is, Cher realizes that her disapproving ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was -- and falls for him.

Baby Mama

A successful, single businesswoman who dreams of having a baby discovers she is infertile and hires a working class woman to be her unlikely surrogate.

Can I Be Your Bratwurst, Please?

A newly arrived guest of a Hollywood hotel charms and amazes the regulars, and they decide to invite him to their Christmas dinner.

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi Movie

Yokozawa meets a man (Kirishima) and his life is turned around. Kirishima starts to blackmail and tease Yokozawa, but Kirishima might actually be trying to help him recover from an emotional period of his life in the process.

Glamour Dolls

This is the story of two male prostitutes who want to become professional actors and how they struggle to get into show business.

War Baby

Meet Duewand Collier Jr.-Male, 68 years old, American Citizen, a child conceived in the backdrop of the Philippines-American Mutual Defense Treaty, born and raised with Catholic guilt. He has made peace with his past and now tells his story-a story of love.

The Opposite of Sex

A 16-year-old girl visits her gay half-brother and ends up seducing his boyfriend, thus wreaking havoc on all of their lives.

My Beautiful Laundrette

A Pakistani Briton renovates a rundown laundrette with his male lover while dealing with drama within his family, the local Pakistani community, and a persistent mob of skinheads.

The World According to Garp

A struggling young writer finds his life and work dominated by his unfaithful wife and his radical feminist mother, whose best-selling manifesto turns her into a cultural icon.

The Office Is Mine

When a new hire seemingly threatens his social standing at work, Zac begins to unravel. Fueled by paranoia that he's being replaced, Zac sets on a collision course with the newcomer, ready to prove the office isn't big enough for them both.

C.R.A.Z.Y.

A young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father's values.

The Closet

A man spreads the rumor of his fake homosexuality with the aid of his neighbor, to prevent his imminent firing at his work.

Truth or Desire?

Lucas and Diego, facing the pressures of academic life, put aside their studies for a session of mutual discovery. As the evening progresses, their playful game of "Truth or Dare" becomes a medium for unveiling hidden desires. Amidst laughter and tension, desire steers their journey, transforming an ordinary night into a surreal exploration of their deepest truths.

Lonesome Cowboys

Five lonesome cowboys get all hot and bothered at home on the range after confronting Ramona Alvarez and her nurse.

In & Out

A midwestern teacher questions his sexuality after a former student makes a comment about him at the Academy Awards.

Dudes

When a jock comes out as gay to his closest friends, each of the bros has a different reaction to the big news. Will their friendship win over discrimination?

Torch Song Trilogy

Arnold is a gay man working as a drag queen in 1971 NYC. He meets a handsome bisexual man.

Beautiful Mystery

Shinohara, a young bodybuilder, joins a para-military sect in northern Japan. His instructor, Takizawa, takes a liking to the new recruit. After an early “special” training session the two develop a lasting and loving relationship.

She's the Man

Viola Hastings is in a real jam. Complications threaten her scheme to pose as her twin brother, Sebastian, and take his place at a new boarding school. She falls in love with her handsome roommate, Duke, who loves beautiful Olivia, who has fallen for Sebastian! As if that were not enough, Viola's twin returns from London ahead of schedule but has no idea that his sister has already replaced him on campus.

My Only Earth Is in the Moon

Sergio answers 36 questions to make Gabriel fall in love. Did you know Glauber was a Pisces?

Labyrinth of Passion

An array of outrageous people, including a desperate nymphomaniac and a terrorist with an acute sense of smell, seek love and happiness in Madrid.

I Love You Phillip Morris

Steven Russell leads a seemingly average life – an organ player in the local church, happily married to Debbie, and a member of the local police force. That is until he has a severe car accident that leads him to the ultimate epiphany: he’s gay and he’s going to live life to the fullest – even if he has to break the law to do it. Taking on an extravagant lifestyle, Steven turns to cons and fraud to make ends meet and is eventually sent to the State Penitentiary where he meets the love of his life, a sensitive, soft-spoken man named Phillip Morris. His devotion to freeing Phillip from jail and building the perfect life together prompts him to attempt (and often succeed at) one impossible con after another.

Regular Guys

Christoph, cop and self-confident macho, has trouble with his fiance. After a long night he wakes up in the arms of Edgar, a good-looking, gay auto-mechanic. His live gets more and more troublesome after his girl friend throws him out of their apartment and as last resort he moves to Edgars place. Working together with a new, good-looking, very self-confident, female collegue, but living with a good-looking gay guy makes him pretty uncertain about his sexuality and his role as a cop. Written by Konstantin Articus

The Wedding Banquet

A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to keep his parents off his back and to get the woman a green card. Chaos follows when his parents arrive in New York for the wedding.

The 10 Year Plan

Myles and Brody are best friends with two very different ways of finding love. Displeased with their current love lives, they make a pact to be together if neither finds love in ten year’s time. Now two months shy of their deadline, both friends set off to do whatever it takes to avoid ending up as each other’s last resort.

Hi, Inspector

A street cop is picked by the national security service in order to carry out an important and delicate task. His mission is to go undercover and infiltrate a dangerous international cabal of homosexuals.

Love and Other Disasters

Flighty Emily "Jacks" Jackson works for the British edition of Vogue magazine. Rather than pursue a relationship, Jacks regularly hooks up with her devoted ex-boyfriend, James Wildstone, and lives with Peter Simon, a gay screenwriter. When Jacks meets Argentinian photographer's assistant Paolo Sarmiento, she assumes he is gay and tries to bring him and Peter together, unaware that Paolo is straight and in love with her.

Love, Simon

Everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old Simon Spier, it's a little more complicated. He hasn't told his family or friends that he's gay, and he doesn't know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he's fallen for online.

The Killer Condom

In New York City, detective Luigi Mackeroni investigates a string of mysterious penile mutilations at the Hotel Quickie. After Mackeroni attempts to have a tryst with a gigolo he meets in the lobby, a carniverous condom bites off his right testicle and flees, which sets the detective off on a quest to stop the predatory prophylactic once and for all.

Threesome

At a sizable public college, high-minded student Eddy is forced to room with the slovenly Stuart, but the pair strike up a surprising friendship. When attractive co-ed Alex is assigned to live with the two male students because of her gender-neutral name, a roundabout love triangle ensues. Eddy secretly yearns for Stuart, who wants Alex, but she prefers Eddy. The complex situation leads to sexual experimentation and strained relationships.

Mambo Italiano

When an Italian man comes out of the closet, it affects both his life and his crazy family.

Everything Is Illuminated

A young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II—in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis.

Summer Storm

Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.

Cockles and Muscles

Crustacés et coquillages is a fresh French comedy film with numerous surprise turnarounds and about the tolerance of a family of four. The family spend an idealistic summer vacation together where each of the family members gets involved in a new or old relationship.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Firefighters Chuck Ford and Larry Valentine are guy's guys, loyal to the core—which is why when widower Larry asks Chuck to pose as his lover so that he can get domestic partner benefits for his kids, his buddy agrees. However, things get dicey when a bureaucrat comes calling, and the boys are forced to present a picture of domestic bliss.

Ménage

Bickering couple Monique and Antoine are interrupted by bisexual burglar Bob while fighting in a bar. With husband and wife in need of cash, Bob teaches them the most efficient house burglary methods. Monique is attracted to the charismatic thief, but Bob is more interested in Antoine, who eventually succumbs to his attentions. As the trio continues living together, Monique grows unhappy about being ignored by both men.

Law of Desire

Pablo, a successful film director, disappointed in his relationship with his young lover, Juan, concentrates in a new project, a monologue starring his transgender sister, Tina. Antonio, an uptight young man, falls possessively in love with the director and in his passion would stop at nothing to obtain the object of his desire.

Do It Like An Hombre

Raúl, Eduardo and Santiago have led a happy and "straight" life since their childhood, until, one day, Santiago confesses to them that he is gay.

To Be or Not to Be

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when Poland is invaded by the Germans in World War II. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage, which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.

Friends and Family

Gay New York couple Stephen Torcelli and Danny Russo have something to hide from Stephen's parents -- their jobs as Mafia enforcers. When the Torcelli family plans to visit, Stephen and Danny panic because Stephen's father works for the FBI. Despite efforts to keep family and Mafia separate, a birthday party gets mixed up with a mobster's daughter's engagement party. Trouble arises when the mobsters concoct a political scheme at the party.

29th and Gay

Following a year in the life of James Sanchez, it's a story about a guy rapidly approaching thirty, who doesn't have a six-pack, full head of hair or a boyfriend. While his best friend Roxy, an actress-turned-activist, struggles with showing him there's life beyond the glitz of the disco ball, his other friend, Brandon, one of those gay boys comfortable in his own gay skin, works on getting James to at least talk to a boy. Feeling out of place in the world of circuit boys, caught between his Hispanic-American heritage and being gay, we watch James find his place in the world, realizing that life is in the journey, not the destination.

Boys On Film 16: Possession

Golden boys, teen lust, self-conscious dolls, chance encounters, a vengeful creature, holiday romance, hidden sexuality — Boys On Film celebrates it's (not so) sweet sixteen with an astonishing selection of the latest international gay short films. Volume 16: Possession features ten complete films: Kai Stänicke's "Golden" with Christian Tesch and Maximilian Gehrlinger; Christopher Manning's "Jamie" starring Sebastian Christophers and Raphael Verrion; Kai Stänicke's "B." starring Susanne Bormann and Andreas Jähnert; Blake Mawson's "PYOTR495" starring Alex Ozerov; Charlie Francis's "When A Man Loves A Woman" starring Tommy Jay Brennan, Jemima Spence, and Diane Brooks Webster; Anthony Schatteman's "Follow Me" starring Ezra Fieremans and Maarten Ketels; Jake Graf's "Chance" starring 'ABS' and Clifford Hume; Andrew Keenan-Bolger's "Sign" starring John McGinty and Preston Sadleir; Oliver Mason's "Away With Me" starring Chris Polick and Lee Knight; and "We Could Be Parents" by Björn Elgerd.

Far More

Adrian Grenier stars as Sean McAllister, a successful fashion designer who hasn't seen his family in years. He returns to his hometown for a painstaking family reunion that will take him back to his past only to rebuild his future.

Heat

Former child star Joe Davis, reduced to living in a cheap Hollywood motel while struggling for acting jobs, is lusted after by nearly every woman he meets, including Jessica Todd, a tightly wound feminist who has recently come out as a lesbian. When Jessica's mother, Sally, an emotionally needy has-been actress, meets Joe, she moves him into her enormous, tacky mansion as her new boy toy and attempts to get him acting work.

Grande école

Paul and Agnes have been going out for quite a while and Agnes is shocked to learn that he'd rather live with two roommates on campus than move in with her. As soon as he meets one of his roommates, Louis-Anault, Paul's behavior changes - he is attracted to Louis without realizing so himself. Agnes, on the other hand, gets quite jealous and offers a bet: Whoever gets to have Louis-Anault first, wins... If she does, Paul will no longer explore his homosexual desires, if he does - she'll walk away. Meanwhile, Paul meets Mecir, a young Arab worker, who shows him there's more to life than elite colleges...

Edge of Seventeen

1984, Sandusky, Ohio. A naive 17-year-old navigates heartbreak and self-expression as he explores his sexuality.

Tennessee Queer

Religion, politics and gay pride clash in a small Tennessee town when out, proud and living in New York Jason Potts returns home to make life better for the LGBT teenagers.

The Wishmakers

Three young gay men arrive in Los Angeles to fulfill their dreams and aspirations, during a summer which will change their lives. In a world of You Tube celebrities, unemployment, downward mobility, and socializing through Facebook, they make a wish in a fountain to find love, fame, and transcendence. Will any of them do it?