Nine Lives

Nine Lives is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Rodrigo García. The screenplay, an example of hyperlink cinema, relates nine short, loosely intertwined tales with nine different women at their cores. Their themes include parent-child relationships, fractured love, adultery, illness, and death. Similar to García's previous work, Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, it is a series of overlapping vignettes, each one running about the same length and told in a single, unbroken take, featuring an ensemble cast. Plot The story centers on nine stories, each revolving around different women. Imprisoned Sandra has an emotional breakdown when the broken telephone in her cubicle prevents her from communicating with her daughter on visiting day. Diana and Damian, two former flames now married to others, unexpectedly have a poignant reunion in the aisle of the local supermarket. Holly returns home to confront her sexually abusive stepfather and dissolves into gun-waving hysteria. Sonia and Martin, a feuding married couple, have an emotional meltdown while visiting their friends Lisa and Damian in their new apartment. Teenaged Samantha is torn between her non-communicative parents Ruth and Larry, each of whom questions her about everything the other one has to say. Ruth, who is the primary caretaker for her wheelchair-using husband, becomes increasingly guilt-ridden during a tryst with drunken widower Henry in a hotel. Meanwhile, divorcée Lorna must cope with her ex-husband Andrew's sexual desire for her during his second wife's funeral. Camille is facing breast cancer surgery and uses her waiting time to lash out at her quietly supportive husband Richard. Maggie discusses life with her daughter Maria during a picnic in the cemetery and realizes how much she needs the little girl's loving comfort. Cast