Knight of Cups

The film is divided into ten chapters (most of which are named after a tarot card from the Major Arcana or Minor Arcana except the final chapter, "Freedom"), each loosely focusing on one of the film's characters: I. Knight of Cups – The opening title card serves as the initial "significator" card which represents the person being given the tarot reading (the querent). Audience is introduced to Rick, an aimless Hollywood screenwriter distracted by women and life's pleasures. II. The Moon – Della, a rebellious young woman. III. The Hanged Man – His unstable brother Barry and elderly father Joseph, with both of whom he commiserates about the loss of his brother Billy. IV. The Hermit – Tonio, a wealthy libertine. V. Judgment – His former wife Nancy, a physician. VI. The Tower – Herb, a powerful executive who tries to persuade Rick to take a higher position in the movie business. VII. The Sun – Helen, a serene but reserved and reflective model. (This is the only known chapter introduced not by an ordinary title card, but by a shot of the tarot card itself. Editor Keith Fraase has confirmed this shot was a chapter marker.) VIII. The High Priestess – Karen, a free-spirited, playful stripper who accompanies Rick on an excursion to Las Vegas. IX. Death – Elizabeth, a married woman with whom he has a romance and who then miscarries a child that may or may not have been his. X. Freedom – Isabel, an apparently symbolic woman seen only in brief glimpses, who helps him see a way forward. (The final segment diverges from the Tarot theme, as there is no "Freedom" card.)