Jan, a freelance journalist, and Sabine, the mother of his two children and a textile designer, have no money. Sabine is abandoned by her husband and then gets caught up in the bureaucracy.
A sober psychogram of a woman who is fighting and hoping for her life and everyday life.
Julia and Romeo are two disenchanted lovers who want to break up but are unwilling to suffer the pain. After a nasty fight, Romeo storms off and unsuccessfully vents his frustration with a black prostitute. While visiting the ramshackle brothel, he sees a strange man, who may be a government official, handing over a huge wad of money. Later, he and Julia reunite and go to an upscale golden anniversary party. There a handsome American flirts with Julia. After yet another row, Romeo and Julia retire to the balcony for a love scene. Unfortunately, their making up is interrupted by a sudden power outage. When the lights go back on, Romeo finds the knifed corpse of the party's hostess at his feet. Naturally, he's accused of the crime, but before the other partygoers can get him, he and Julia flee into the Berlin summer night. Their strange series ensuing adventures comprise the rest of the film.
During the Thirty Years' War, the camp-follower Anna Fierling, called "Mother Courage", travels the length and breadth of Europe with her covered wagon. She does not care if it's Catholics or Protestants she trades with as long as business thrives. She loses her three children as a result of the war: bold and spirited Eilif, sincere and upright Swiss Cheese and mute Katrin, who saves the children of Halle by beating a drum on a farmstead roof In wartime, the Fierling children's virtues prove to be deadly. Yet, Mother Courage, remains incorrigible. She will not have anyone "spoil the war" for her and so sets out once more after the soldiers with her wagon.
