Ulysses (1967)

Dublin; June 16, 1904. Stephen Dedalus, who fancies himself as a poet, embarks on a day of wandering about the city during which he finds friendship and a father figure in Leopold Bloom, a middle-aged Jew. Meanwhile, Bloom's day, illuminated by a funeral and an evening of drinking and revelry that stirs paternal feelings toward Stephen, ends with a rapprochement with Molly, his earthy wife.

A warm spring day stimulates the memories of Dublin citizens, among them Stephen Dedalus, a young poet and schoolteacher, and Leopold Bloom, a Jewish advertising agent. Wracked by guilt, Dedalus recalls his intensely Catholic childhood and his mother's funeral; Bloom mourns his son Rudy. Since the child's death 11 years earlier Bloom has been impotent. His wife, Molly, has responded to this withdrawal by cuckolding him numerous times; her current lover is the virile boxing promoter, Blazes Boylan. Traveling in a funeral cortege, Bloom observes Dedalus strolling on the beach and is strongly attracted to the youth. While lunching in a pub, Bloom is taunted by a one-eyed anti-Semite. In a hospital lounge the Jew encounters the drunken poet, whom he follows to the brothel of Bella Cohen. There both men are beset by terrifying fantasies, Bloom envisioning himself an Oriental potentate, the mayor of Dublin, a culprit tried by a Jew-hating judge, and a woman. In the street Bloom invites Dedalus to his home, where the two spend the night conversing. As day breaks Bloom offers his friend lodging, but the poet refuses. Her husband asleep beside her, Molly considers her youthful courtship by Bloom, her present relationship with Boylan, and the possibility of a future affair with Dedalus.