Magnolia is the story of nine people whose lives connect briefly in strange manners during the course of one day. All the people are connected in some way or another to every other main character. We see how strange things happen, and how to some extent we are all connected to one another.

Paul Thomas Anderson is the director of Magnolia. Before this film, he also directed the popular films Boogie Nights and Sydney, better known as Hard Eight. Anderson once said, "I have a feeling, one of those gut feelings, that I'll make pretty good movies the rest of my life. And maybe I'll make some clunkers, maybe I'll make some winners, but I guess the way that I really feel is that Magnolia is, for better or worse, the best movie I'll ever make." His intense and intricate film has all the characteristics of a best...