The Joke

Young honest public official is sworn in after his predecessor had to leave due to a corruption scandal. Soon, the young idealist discovers just how far-reaching the corruption is in his town and how easy it is to become corrupt yourself.

Olivér and Ficskó are fierce restaurant critics crusading for culinary excellence and mercilessly skewering inept chefs under the pseudonym “the Lumnitzer Sisters.” Offended restaurateurs hire resourceful young manager Milica to unmask, neutralize or recruit the critics - by bribery, seduction or, failing that, elimination. A battle of wits unfolds as Milica’s schemes clash with the critics’ razor-sharp reviews.

In the summer of 2012 in a small town in the south of China, divorced shopkeeper Peng Yun makes the acquaintance of Ji Qing Qing who sells meat skewers from her rickshaw.

An American-born Chinese economics professor accompanies her boyfriend to Singapore for his best friend's wedding, only to get thrust into the lives of Asia's rich and famous.

In wartime England, railway official Ruben Roberts discovers that his wife was sexually abused as a child by the Chairman of the Line, also her godfather. With her assistance, Ruben plots murder on the Brighton Express.