"The Return" deals with rural exodus, the return to the land, the antagonism between two worlds: that of urban dwellers and of the rural areas deeply rooted in tradition. Ranaivo lives in Antananarivo. To make ends meet, he sells ice lollies. his father, Ratovo, comes to the capital to ask for his son’s help. he needs money to organize the turning of the dead ceremony. After the village celebration, Ranaivo decides to leave the capital and emigrates to the highlands where everything is open to those who want to get back to the land.

Single mom Dottie Ingels sells cosmetics in a department store while dreaming of becoming a comedian. After she inherits some money, she decides to move to New York with her children Erica and Opal in order to begin a stand-up career in small bars. Dottie soon rises to stardom, but while she travels all over the USA, her daughters stay home lonely.

Newly married couple, Greg and Joy Lawson, move into their home in the suburbs and are warmly welcomed by their neighbors, one of whom, Becky, takes a dangerous interest in Greg. While Joy is away, they spend an intimate moment together, orchestrated by Becky, and then they agree to keep their distance. But she inserts herself into every aspect of his life, wreaking havoc on his marriage and potential job until the final explosive confrontation.

A literature teacher moving to Portugal decides to personally return her last five books to their original gifters, each containing special dedications.

When her social-climbing father is relocated from a one-horse town to his native Rome, 12-year-old Caterina enrolls in his old school, finding herself adrift in an environment where eighth-graders form friendships based on social class and their parents' political affiliations.

On the night before he is set to leave his Rhode Island home to study photography in New York City, Rocco must decide how much he's willing to give up to follow his dreams.

A village fella tries to make it big in the city.

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Shortly after moving to the suburbs, the Kobayashis start to come undone. Convinced a family curse is at the root of their erratic behavior, the man of the house takes it upon himself to course-correct before it takes the last of their sanity.

After separating from the father of her son, a young French woman tries to find lodging and a fresh start in L.A. for herself and her son.

Ferry owner Benjamin has a regular passenger, Chedeng, who is studying to become a midwife. Chedeng has a friend and neighbour, Maria, and without either of them knowing about it they both have a relationship with Benjamin. When Mary finds out she’s pregnant, things get difficult.

When a small-town baseball coach gets the offer of a lifetime from a larger 6A high school, he uproots his family and leaves the only home he's ever known. But as a man of faith, he soon faces extreme opposition to his coaching methods from the school superintendent.