All of the stories are pretty good, except the fourth which involves some villagers making a whole lot of fuss over where they can bury their dead. My favorite was the third, about a potter who gets himself stuck in a jumbo-sized olive oil jar. I also thought the epilogue was incredibly beautiful. It's all very well done, and the music by Nicola Piovani is majestic and sublime. A little on the slow side, perhaps, but an improvement of the self-conscious Night of the Shooting Stars.