Several street children in Berlin talk about their daily life, referring not only to drug addiction and physical/traumatic injuries, but also to their talents and dreams.

Lynn (22) lives with her brother in Berlin. There she enjoys the advantages of family life, without really feeling involved in it. She does not have any precise aim in life, but manages to awaken the interest of many people with her direct and spontaneous character. Her boyfriend David is very different: he is entirely engrossed in his very disciplined swimming training for the world championships. David does not intend to allow himself to be distracted by the complicating factors of a relationship with Lynn. When Lynn, working behind the till of restaurant, meets the Japanese student Koji, everything gets more complicated. They can't exchange many words, but it is soon clear that their moments together mean a lot to both of them.

A portrait of Rita, who claims that her mother was never a mother for her. Rita gives birth to her own five children and forces her mother to take the role of a mother.

Agnes, a teacher from the Hessian provinces, has come to Berlin to identify a dead girl who might be Lydia, her runaway daughter. It turns out not to be Lydia, but Agnes stays in the city anyway. Still frantically looking for her missing daughter, she comes across a young stray called Ines, who no longer leaves her side.

Mr. Bachmann And His Class explores the close bond between an elementary school teacher and his students. His unconventional methods clash with the complex social and cultural realities of the provincial German industrial town they live in.