In the wealthy African nation of Zamunda, crown prince Akeem Joffer grows weary of his pampered lifestyle on his 21st birthday and wishes to do more for himself without servants at his every whim. When his parents King Jaffe and Queen Aoleon present him with Imani Izzi, an arranged bride-to-be, Akeem takes action. King Jaffe gives Akeem 40 days to sew his wild oats and visit the world before the wedding commences. Seeking an independent woman who could think for herself and love him for himself and not his social status, Akeem and his best friend/personal aide Semmi travel to the New York City borough of Queens and rent a squalid tenement in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights under the guise of poor foreign students. Beginning their search for Akeem's bride, Akeem and Semmi are invited by local barber shop owner Clarence to a rally raising money for the neighborhood. During the rally, Akeem encounters Lisa McDowell who possesses all the qualities he is looking for in a woman. Upon his insistence, he and Semmi get entry-level jobs working at the local fast-food restaurant called McDowell's, a McDonald's knockoff owned by Lisa's widowed father Cleo, who is dodging trademark infringement accusations from McDonalds. Akeem's attempts to win Lisa's love are complicated by Lisa's lazy and obnoxious boyfriend Darryl Jenks whose father owns Soul Glo (a Jheri curl –like hairstyling aid). He even agreed to accompany them along with Lisa's sister, Patrice, on a double-date to a basketball game where he is recognized by an immigrant from Zamunda. After stopping an armed robber who hit McDowells on multiple occasions, Akeem and Semmi are invited to Cleo's home, where he assigned them duties for a soiree he was hosting. There, Darryl announces his engagement to Lisa—without Lisa's consent—to their families. Infuriated by this, she calls it off with Darryl and starts dating Akeem who claims that he comes from a family of poor goat herders. Meanwhile, Semmi hooks up with Patrice, telling her half the truth, claiming to be the prince, himself. Although Akeem thrives on hard work and learning how commoners live, Semmi is not comfortable with living in such meager conditions. After a dinner date with Lisa is thwarted when Semmi furnishes their apartment with a hot tub and other high end luxuries, Akeem confiscates his money and donates it to a homeless Mortimer and Randolph Duke. Semmi wires a telegraph to King Jaffe for more money, prompting the Joffers to travel to Queens to find him. Cleo initially disapproves of Akeem as he believes he is poor and therefore not good enough for his daughter. He becomes ecstatic when he discovers that Akeem is actually an extremely wealthy prince, after meeting his parents. When Akeem discovers that his parents have arrived in New York, he and Lisa go to the McDowell residence in Jamaica Estates to lie low and Cleo welcomes them while driving away Darryl. After Cleo's bond with Akeem is ruined by the unexpected arrival of the Zamundan entourage, Lisa later becomes angry and confused that Akeem lied to her about his identity. When King Jaffe insults Lisa's status, an offended Cleo comes to his daughters aid and refuses to take a dime from Jaffe. Akeem later chases down Lisa and explains that he wanted her to love him for who, not what, he is, even offering to renounce his throne. Still hurt and angry, Lisa refuses to marry him and returns him the jeweled earrings he gifted her in secret. Despondent, Akeem resigns himself to the arranged marriage with Imani. As they leave, Aoleon reprimands Jaffe for clinging to outdated traditions instead of thinking of their son's happiness. At the wedding procession, a still-heartbroken Akeem becomes surprised when his veiled bride is Lisa herself as Cleo also comes out. Following the ceremony, they ride happily in a carriage to the cheers of Zamundans. Witnessing such splendor, Lisa is both surprised and touched by the fact that Akeem would have given it up just for her. Akeem offers again to abdicate if she does not want this life but Lisa playfully declines.

In 1988 Rome, Salvatore Di Vita, a famous film director, returns home late one evening, where his girlfriend sleepily tells him that his mother called to say someone named Alfredo has died. Salvatore shies from committed relationships and has not been to his home village of Giancaldo, Sicily, in thirty years. As his girlfriend asks him who Alfredo was, Salvatore is unable to fall asleep and flashes back to his childhood. A few years after World War II, eight-year-old Salvatore is the mischievous, intelligent son of a war widow. Nicknamed Totò, he discovers a love for films and spends every free moment at the local movie house, Cinema Paradiso. Although they initially start on tense terms, he develops a friendship with the middle-aged projectionist, Alfredo, who often lets him watch films from the projection booth. During the shows, the audience can be heard booing because there are missing sections, causing the films to suddenly jump, bypassing scenes with romantic kisses or embraces. The local priest, the owner of the cinema, had ordered these sections to be censored, and the deleted scenes are cut from the film reels by Alfredo and piled on the projection room floor, where Alfredo keeps them until he can splice them back in for the film to be sent to the next town. Alfredo eventually teaches Salvatore how to operate the film projector. One day, Cinema Paradiso catches fire as Alfredo is projecting The Firemen of Viggiù after hours, on the wall of a nearby house. Salvatore saves Alfredo's life, but not before a reel of nitrate film explodes in Alfredo's face, leaving him permanently blind. The movie house is rebuilt by a town citizen, Ciccio Spaccafico, using his winnings from a football lottery. Salvatore, still a child, is hired as the new projectionist, as only he knows how to run the machines. About a decade later, Salvatore, now in high school, is still operating the projector at the "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso". His relationship with the blind Alfredo has strengthened, and Salvatore often looks to him for help – advice that Alfredo often dispenses by quoting classic films. Salvatore has been experimenting with filming, using a home movie camera; doing this he has met, and captured on film, a girl named Elena Mendola, daughter of a wealthy banker, and has fallen in love with her. Salvatore woos – and wins – Elena's heart, only to lose her due to her father's disapproval. As Elena and her family move away, Salvatore leaves town for compulsory military service. His attempts to write to Elena are fruitless; his letters are returned as undeliverable. Upon his return from the military, Alfredo urges Salvatore to leave Giancaldo permanently, counseling that the town is too small for Salvatore to ever find his dreams. Moreover, the old man tells him, once Salvatore leaves, he must pursue his destiny wholeheartedly, never looking back and never returning, even to visit; he must never give in to nostalgia or even write or think about them. They tearfully embrace, and Salvatore leaves to pursue his future as a filmmaker. Back in the present, Salvatore realizes that he is very satisfied with his life from a professional point of view but not from a personal one, so decides to return home to attend Alfredo's funeral. Though the town has changed greatly, he now understands why Alfredo thought it was important that he leave. Alfredo's widow tells him that the old man followed Salvatore's successes with pride and he left him something: an unlabeled film reel and the old stool that Salvatore once stood on to operate the projector. Salvatore learns that Cinema Paradiso is to be demolished to make way for a parking lot. At the funeral, he recognizes the faces of many people who attended the cinema when he was the projectionist. Salvatore returns to Rome where he watches Alfredo's reel and discovers that it comprises all the romantic scenes that the priest had ordered Alfredo to cut from the films; Alfredo had spliced every kiss together to form a single reel. Totò comes to peace with his past, smiling with tears in his eyes.

In November 1987, Jamaican sprinter Derice Bannock trains to compete in the 100 metres race at the forthcoming Summer Olympics, but fails to advance in the trails after fellow runner Junior Bevil accidentally stumbles and falls, knocking down Derice and another competitor, Yul Brenner. Derice petitions for the race to be rerun, but is denied by committee leader Barrington Coolidge, though he shows sympathy for Derice. While in Coolidge's office, Derice sees a photograph of his late father, Ben, standing next to a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Coolidge identifies the man as Irving "Irv" Blitzer, a former bobsled champion who was disqualified for cheating in the 1972 Winter Olympics and now works as a bookie close to Derice's home. Derice realizes he could enter the upcoming Winter Olympics in Calgary by forming a bobsled team, recruiting his friend Sanka Coffie, a pushcart derby champion. Derice and Sanka track down Blitzer, who initially refuses to help Derice but eventually agrees to coach the team after learning that he is Ben's son. A recruitment drive fails when other athletes see how dangerous bobsledding is, though Junior agrees to join the team as, like Derice, he does not want to wait four years for the next summer Olympics. Yul also joins in order to get off the island, though he is unhappy at having Junior as his team mate, still angry at him for what happened at the trials. The newly-formed team trains with Blitzer, though Coolidge refuses to provide the money needed to participate, believing the team's inexperience will embarrass Jamaica. After Derice fails to find sponsors and he, Sanka and Yul are unsuccessful raising funds themselves, Junior sells his car to finance the trip. Upon reaching Calgary, Blitzer registers the team and borrows a rundown bobsled from Roger, one of his past teammates. The Jamaicans struggle to adapt to the cold and race conditions but improve through exercise and hard work. Derice begins to copy the techniques of the very efficient Swiss team, while the East German team – the current bobsled world record holders – constantly heckle the Jamaicans during their practices. When the team gets into a bar fight with the East Germans, Blitzer reprimands them and reminds them they are representing all of Jamaica through their actions, inspiring the team to be more serious about their conduct and training in order to qualify for the Olympics. Overseen by Olympic committee members, which includes Blitzer's former coach Kurt Hemphill, the Jamaican team successfully complete their qualifying run, only to be excluded, supposedly for lack of competitive experience. Blitzer confronts Kemphill, who is still bitter at Blitzer for cheating, and pleads with him not to punish the Jamaicans for his past actions. The team is reinstated, and Junior, with encouragement from Yul, rebuffs his father's attempt to bring him home, firmly stating his intent to compete for Jamaica. The team's first run in competition puts them in last place, with Sanka unhappy with Derice for copying the Swiss team and believes they need to find their own rhythm. On the second day of competition they significantly improve, but on the final run their bobsled flips and crashes. Determined to finish the race, the team pick up their sled and carry it over the finish line, to the applause of other teams spectators, including all those who had doubted and ridiculed them. An epilogue says that the team returned to Jamaica as heroes, and returned to the Winter Olympics four years later to participate as equals.

Kenny is a mockumentary that follows the fictional Kenny through his daily life. His work and his personal relationships are explored as Kenny goes about his day-to-day activities and speaks directly to the camera and his audience. Kenny provides a most basic service to the community, portable toilets. The audience sees Kenny interviewing potential clients and involved in major public events. It is important to Kenny to know the kind of food and drink to be served at these events as this will determine the level of service he provides. Never ashamed of his job, despite the disparagement of some (including his own family), Kenny regards himself as a professional. Even at the most prestigious events for which he caters, Kenny realises that the most glamorous will need his portable toilets. He sees life in all of its complexities through the need of his services. Kenny takes his son, Jesse, to visit his father, but is hampered by his ex-wife's obstructiveness and his father's bitterness. When Kenny travels to Nashville to attend a toilet convention, he is thrilled to travel outside his native Melbourne. His ingenuity, friendship and commitment to his profession opens business opportunities in Japan and the potential for a new relationship with Jackie, a flight attendant, but he must return home prematurely when his father suffers a medical emergency. In an attempt at bonding, Kenny, his wealthy brother David, and their father go camping. After half a day, David leaves in disdain. After Kenny tries to defend David, his father tells Kenny to step out of his brother's shadow and stick up for himself, which prompts Kenny to consider his life. He reveals that his success in Nashville has led to the offer of a promotion, and though his father urges him to accept, Kenny is unsure. When Kenny's ex-wife unexpectedly leaves him with Jesse on the day of the Melbourne Cup, his busiest day of the year, Kenny finds his son to be an able and cheerful assistant. However, prejudice against his work again appears, with customers complaining that a child should not be made to clean toilets, prompting Kenny to ask Jesse to stay in the office. When he returns to find Jesse gone, Kenny searches the venue in a panic and eventually finds him at the toilets, wanting to help again. That night, as he is about to drive away in his septic tank truck after a long and exhausting day, Kenny's way is blocked by a luxury car whose driver insensitively brushes off his requests to move. Kenny breaks his longstanding habit of amiability to fill the man's car with human waste, a suggestion that perhaps Kenny has decided to stick up for himself a little bit more. Finally, Kenny declines the opportunity to become an executive and seeks out Jackie to renew their relationship.

In 1969, FBI agent Carl Hanratty arrives in Marseille, France, to pick up prisoner Frank Abagnale Jr., who has fallen ill due to the prison's poor conditions. In a flashback, Frank is living in New Rochelle, New York, with his father, Frank Sr., and his French mother, Paula, in 1963. During his youth, he witnesses his father's many techniques for conning people, but Frank Sr.'s tax problems with the IRS eventually force the family to move from their house and into a small apartment. One day, Frank discovers his mother is having an affair with Jack Barnes, his father's friend from the New Rochelle Rotary Club. When his parents divorce, Frank runs away. Needing money, he turns to confidence scams to survive, his cons progressively growing bolder. He poses as a Pan Am pilot named Frank Taylor and forges payroll checks from Pan Am. Soon, his forgeries are worth millions of dollars. News of the crimes reaches the FBI and Carl begins tracking Frank. He finds him at a motel, but Frank tricks Carl into believing he is a Secret Service agent named Barry Allen. He escapes before Carl realizes he was fooled. Frank begins to impersonate a doctor. As Dr. Frank Conners, he falls in love with Brenda, a naive young hospital nurse, and asks her attorney father for both her hand in marriage and help with arrangements to take the Louisiana State Bar exam, which Frank passes. Carl tracks Frank to his and Brenda's engagement party, but Frank escapes through a bedroom window, telling Brenda to meet him at Miami International Airport two days later. At the airport, Frank spots Brenda but also plainclothes agents. He realizes she has been followed and drives away. Reassuming his pilot identity, he stages a recruiting drive for stewardesses at a local college. Surrounded by eight young women dressed as stewardesses, which distracts the agents at the airport, Frank escapes on a flight to Madrid. In 1967, Carl tracks Frank down in his mother's hometown of Montrichard, France, and convinces him to surrender to the French police. Frank is arrested and taken into custody there, but Carl assures him he will be extradited to the U.S. In 1969, Carl accompanies Frank on a flight to the U.S. As they approach, Carl informs Frank that his father has died. Grief-stricken, Frank escapes from the plane through a toilet and reaches the house of his mother, who is now married to Barnes and is living with him and their young daughter. Heartbroken by his mother having a new family, Frank surrenders to Carl and a judge sentences him to 12 years in a maximum-security prison. Carl visits Frank in prison; he shows him a fraudulent check from a case he is investigating. Frank immediately deduces that a bank teller was involved in the fraud. Impressed, Carl convinces the FBI to allow Frank to serve the remainder of his sentence working for the FBI Financial Crimes Unit. Frank agrees, but soon grows restless doing the tedious office work. One weekend, Frank prepares to impersonate a pilot again but is intercepted by Carl, who says he is willing to let him continue with his con, assuring Frank that no one is chasing him and that it is his choice. Frank returns to work the following week. As they discuss another fraudulent check, Carl asks him how he cheated on the Louisiana State Bar exam, and Frank tells him he did not cheat, but studied for two weeks and passed it. Carl smiles and asks Frank if he is telling the truth, but Frank does not answer, instead giving Carl input on the check. The closing titles state that (as of 1991) Frank has now been married for 26 years, has three sons and is living in the Midwestern United States, and that he has remained friends with Carl and has made a living as a leading expert on bank fraud and forgery.

Oskar resides with his mother in the Swedish suburb of Blackeberg in 1982. His classmates bully him, and he spends his evenings imagining revenge. One evening, he meets Eli, who appears to be a girl his age. Eli has moved into the adjoining apartment with a man, Håkan. Eli informs Oskar that they cannot be friends, but the two begin exchanging coded messages through their shared wall. Eli learns that Oskar is being bullied by schoolmates and encourages him to stand up for himself. Oskar then enrolls in exercise classes after school. Håkan kills a person on a footpath to harvest blood for Eli, but is interrupted by a passerby. Eli is prompted to waylay and kill a man, Jocke. A recluse witnesses the attack from his flat but doesn't report the incident. Håkan hides Jocke's body in a hole in the lake. Håkan makes another effort to obtain blood for Eli by trapping a boy in a room after school. When he is unsuccessful, Håkan pours acid onto his own face to avoid identification. Eli visits Håkan in the hospital, where he offers his own neck for feeding. Eli drains him of his blood, and Håkan falls out the window. Eli goes to Oskar's apartment and spends the night with him, during which they agree to "go steady", though Eli states, "I'm not a girl". While on a field trip, the bullies again harass Oskar, who this time hits their leader in the head with a pole, injuring him. On that same trip, some of Oskar's classmates discover Jocke's body. Oskar suggests that he and Eli form a bond and cuts his hand. Eli laps up his blood then runs away. Jocke's friend Lacke has a fight with his girlfriend Virginia, and afterward Eli attacks her. She survives but discovers that she has become sensitive to sunlight. Oskar confronts Eli, who admits to being a vampire. Oskar is upset by Eli's need to kill people for survival. Eli insists that they are alike, in that Oskar wants to kill and Eli needs to kill, and encourages him to "be me, for a little while." While in the hospital, Virginia asks an orderly to open the blinds in her room, and bursts into flames, committing suicide. Lacke sets out to kill Eli, whom he finds asleep in the apartment's bathtub. Oskar intervenes, and Eli wakes up and feeds on Lacke's blood. Afterward, Eli thanks Oskar and kisses him. Fearing that they've attracted too much attention from the neighbors, Eli decides that it isn't safe to stay and leaves that night. Oskar is lured out to resume the program at the pool. One of the bullies holds Oskar under the water. Eli arrives and rescues him by killing and dismembering the bullies, except for one, who is left sobbing on a bench. Oskar is seen travelling on a train, with Eli in a box beside him. Eli taps the code for "kiss" to Oskar, who responds the same.

One year after Vincent van Gogh 's suicide, postman Joseph Roulin asks his son Armand to deliver Van Gogh's last letter to his brother, Theo. Roulin finds the death suspicious, as merely weeks earlier Van Gogh claimed through letters that his mood was calm and normal. Armand reluctantly agrees and heads for Paris. Père Tanguy, a Montmartre art supplier, tells Armand that Theo actually died six months after Vincent. He suggests that Armand travel to Auvers-sur-Oise and look for Dr. Paul Gachet, who housed Van Gogh after his release from an asylum, shared his love for art, and attended the funeral. Once there, Armand learns that the doctor is out on business, so he stays at the same inn that Van Gogh did during his time in the area. There, he meets the temporary proprietress Adeline Ravoux, who was fond of Van Gogh and also surprised by his death. At her suggestion, Armand visits the local boatman, who informs him that Van Gogh kept close company with Dr. Gachet's sheltered daughter, Marguerite. When Armand visits her, Marguerite denies and is angered when Armand implies that Van Gogh's suicidal mood could have resulted from an argument with her father. Throughout the investigation, Armand begins to suspect a local boy named René Secretan, who reportedly liked to torment Van Gogh, owned a gun, and had often drunkenly brandished it around town. Dr. Mazery, who examined Van Gogh, also claims that the shot must have come from a few feet away, ruling out suicide. When Armand implicates René, Marguerite confesses that she was in close, but not romantic, relations with Van Gogh, but she does not believe that René was capable of murder. Dr. Gachet finally returns and promises to deliver Armand's letter to Theo's widow. He admits there was an argument between them – Van Gogh accused Gachet of being a coward for not pursuing his dreams, to which Gachet angrily accused Van Gogh of worsening Theo's health by overly depending on his brother. Gachet posits that this accusation drove Van Gogh to suicide in order to release Theo from the burden. After Armand returns home, postman Roulin later receives word from Theo's widow, Johanna, thanking Armand for returning the letter. Johanna attaches to her letter to Armand one of Van Gogh's letters to her – signed, "Your loving Vincent."

On the night that Miller's Comet passes Earth, eight friends gather for a dinner party at the home of couple Mike and Lee. Emily is hesitant to accompany her boyfriend Kevin on an extended business trip abroad. Amir has brought Kevin's ex-girlfriend Laurie, who flirts inappropriately with Kevin. A power outage occurs. Mike and Lee get out candles and colored glow sticks. The friends each take a blue glow stick and venture outside, where the neighborhood is dark except for one house that has lights. Back inside, they notice a broken glass no one remembers damaging. Amir and Hugh decide to ask to use the phone at the lit-up house, as Hugh's physicist brother had insisted Hugh call him if "anything strange" were to happen during the comet's passing and as no one's mobile phone has a signal. Hugh and Amir return. Hugh has a cut forehead and Amir has brought back a box he found at the other house containing a ping-pong paddle and photographs of everyone with numbers written on the backs. Hugh says he looked through the window of the other house and saw a table set for eight. They surmise the other house might be an alternate version of theirs. Hugh writes a note to leave at the other house, only to find an exact copy of the note pinned to their own door. Emily, Kevin, Mike, and Laurie decide to go to the other house. On the way, they encounter another group of four people who look like them, carrying red glow sticks rather than blue. Each group flees back to their houses. Hugh retrieves his brother's book from his car, which deals with quantum decoherence. They speculate that the comet has created mirror realities, one of which will collapse after the comet has passed. They surmise that anyone passing through a particularly dark area outside will emerge into a different reality. Mike drinks heavily and considers killing their doubles before the doubles can kill them. He decides to write a blackmail note to the other Mike to keep him from the book. The group realizes Hugh and Amir, in their midst, came from the other house. The two take the box and leave, then return carrying blue glow sticks. They had found two notes at the other house, showing that the split created more than just two alternate realities. Beth sees Laurie kissing Kevin in the hallway. Someone outside smashes Hugh's car window. Emily retrieves the ring Kevin gave her from her car. Talking to Kevin, Emily realizes she is from a different reality. The group creates their own box to validate they are all from the same reality. In addition to numbering the photographs by rolling dice, they include a randomly chosen object. Emily deduces that only Lee and Beth, who never left the house, originate from that house; she herself, Kevin, and Laurie are from a different house; Hugh and Amir are from a third house; and Mike is from a fourth. The blackmail note arrives under the door, revealing an adulterous liaison between Mike and Beth. Another Mike breaks in, attacks his double and leaves. Emily goes out and looks into several alternate houses until she finds one in which no one seems aware of the split. She lures everyone out of the house by smashing Hugh's car window, then ambushes the alternate Emily, sedating her with ketamine when she gets a ring out of her car and locking her in the trunk. She takes her other self's place while Miller's Comet breaks apart overhead, but must subdue and hide another Emily who crawls into the bathroom. She takes the ring from her defeated self after losing her own in the altercation, then returns to the living room, where she passes out. Emily wakes in daylight on the sofa with the rest of the party apparently none the wiser. Kevin returns her ring, which he found in the bathroom. His cell phone rings; bizarrely, Emily is calling. Emily looks at the two rings as Kevin answers the phone and then turns to look at her.

Ben Cash, his wife Leslie, and their six children live an isolated existence on ten acres in the mountainous Washington wilderness. They are left-wing anarchist activists disillusioned by capitalism and American life, who choose to instill survivalist skills and left-wing politics and philosophy in their children. They educate them to think critically, and train them to be physically fit, athletic, and self-reliant without dependence on modern technology. They are raised to coexist with nature, are given unique names, and celebrate Noam Chomsky 's birthday instead of Christmas. The children are accustomed to reading many forms of college-level literature, and, while showing high aptitude and intelligence beyond their years, they are socially awkward as they have not been socialized with the outside world. Ben has been raising the children on his own while Leslie is hospitalized in New Mexico for bipolar disorder, away from her family and near her wealthy elitist parents. She dies by suicide while undergoing treatment, and Ben learns that her father, Jack Bertrang, plans to hold a Christian burial, despite Leslie being a philosophical Buddhist who abhorred religion. Ben tries to persuade Jack to honor Leslie's wish to be cremated, to no avail, and Jack forbids Ben to attend the funeral, threatening to have him arrested if he comes. Ben initially decides not to go and prevents his children from doing so, but then changes his mind, driving his children across the country in a repurposed school bus. The family briefly stays at the home of Ben's sister, Harper. She and her husband try to convince Ben that the children should attend school to receive a conventional education; Ben quizzes Harper's children and his children on various topics, such as the Bill of Rights, showing that his children are far better educated than Harper's. Ben arrives at Leslie's funeral with their children against Jack's wishes and reads her will, which instructs her family to cremate her and flush her ashes down a toilet, in the hopes of convincing Jack to honor her wishes, only for Jack to have him forcibly removed from the church. Angered by Jack's refusal to honor Leslie's wishes, Ben follows the funeral procession to the cemetery, planning to intervene, despite a police presence and Jack's threat to have him arrested. Ben only relents at his children's insistence that they cannot lose both of their parents. After this, some of Ben's children start to doubt him and his parenting skills, with his second eldest son and middle child Rellian accusing him of failing to treat Leslie's mental health, and eldest son Bodevan accusing him of not equipping them for the real world, showing him acceptance letters from several top Ivy League colleges to which Leslie had helped him apply. Ben finds a note from Rellian, who has run away to live with his grandparents. When Ben visits Jack to get Rellian back, he refuses to go back with him, wanting to stay with his grandparents. Jack berates Ben and accuses him of child abuse, telling him he is filing for custody of all of Ben's children. When one of Ben's older twin daughters Vespyr tries to clandestinely exfiltrate Rellian from their grandparents on Ben's orders, she falls from the roof and narrowly avoids breaking her neck. Ben, shocked and guilty when the hospital tells him how close she was to death, allows Jack to take his children. Jack assures Ben he's making the right choice by leaving his children in their care, and Ben drives off in his bus, feeling sad without his children. However, the children dislike living in their grandparents' capitalist environment and miss their father, so have stowed away in the family bus, and reconcile with their father. The children desire to honor Leslie's final wishes, and persuade Ben to help them. Exhuming her corpse, they burn it on a funeral pyre by the ocean, and perform a singing ceremony in her memory. As per her wishes, they then flush her ashes down an airport toilet. Bodevan then leaves the family to travel to Namibia, while the rest return home. The final scene shows the children eating breakfast around the kitchen table with their father and getting ready for the school bus.

High schooler Sara Dunn has a troubled relationship with her mother, whom she constantly avoids. Essentially homeless, she steals food from her mother's house and sleeps in a sleeping bag outdoors or at friends' homes. Her sleep environment affects her ability to stay awake in class and throughout the day. She is also plagued by surreal nightmares of a dark maze and a shadowy figure with glowing eyes. Needing money, Sara agrees to be a test subject in a sleep study, the intent and goal of which are classified. At first, Sara sleeps well but, after two sessions, her nightmares begin to worsen. She learns that one of the scientists, a young man nicknamed Riff, has been following her outside of the study. The only other woman in the study, Emily, seemingly drops out. Sara has a panic attack when a scientist shows her a picture of the same shadowy figure from the nightmares, and she becomes fed up with the fact none of them will divulge the purpose of the study. The head scientist, Dr. Meyer, disallows the younger scientists using unapproved study methods because of what happened to Sara. Sara eventually passes out from seeing a shadowy figure in a laundromat and is robbed of her phone. Sara confronts Riff, insisting that the study has had a negative impact on her and that she will only continue with it if he reveals the study's purpose. He says that the experiment involves monitoring subjects' dreams using a brain scanning device that converts brainwaves into images. During the next session, Sara and the rest of the experiment volunteers all dream of the same shadowy figure. Riff states that, across the world and throughout history, people have dreamed of a similar figure, which has also haunted him since childhood. As their vitals spike, Sara wakes up in a panic, bleeding from her left eye, and runs away after saying that she knows what the other scientists are doing. Riff pursues her as she runs to a club in search of her friend Zoe but passes out, forcing him to carry her unconscious body. At the lab, the two remaining volunteers continue dreaming of the figure. Becoming semiconscious from sleep paralysis, they see the figure standing at the foot of their beds. It moves around in the waking world. After a scientist goes into the volunteers' room, the figure reaches for him and the volunteers sit up awake with white eyes, causing the monitoring system to shut down. Sara wakes up from a nightmare involving the figure and finds herself in Riff's apartment, where he straps himself to his bed and monitors his own dreams. She sees his dream in which the two of them grow fangs and kiss. Then he has the same dream of the figure while entering sleep paralysis. Sara wakes him before the figure reaches him. Traumatized and exhausted, they have sex, during which Sara sees two shadow figures and passes out again. Riff takes her to a hospital. While waiting for a report of Sara's status, Riff begins to dream of a dark maze and a humanoid figure in the waking world. He then learns that Sara has left her room and wandered out of the hospital. She is sleepwalking and her eyes bleed when Riff tries to wake her. He calls his colleague Anita and urges her to help monitor Sara's dreaming as she sleepwalks through the city. Anita and Riff attach a mobile monitor to Sara's head as she unconsciously leads them to a remote, wooded area. Sara's dream mimics the path she is taking, with shadowy figures manifesting on the monitor, seeming to flank the trio. As they enter a field, the monitor shows Sara approaching a large citadel, before Riff finds a cellphone ringing in the grass. When he answers the call, Sara wakes up screaming. Riff comforts Sara, who identifies the phone as hers, despite the fact that she has never been there before. The phone screen grows static and, though awake, Sara sees shadow figures in the trees. The trio flee, but darkness swallows Anita and Riff as a shadow figure approaches Sara. Sara then wakes up again in Riff's apartment, naked and straddling Riff's dead body, having apparently gouged out his eyes in a sleepwalking episode. She goes to the bathroom and receives a text message that makes her laugh. She examines her reflection, discovering that she has fangs, like in Riff's dream. The message says that she has been in a coma for twenty years, she is being studied using a new technique, and the scientists are not sure where in her dream the message will reach her. It begs her to wake up.

The film portrays a wide-ranging conversation among three characters: Sonia, a Norwegian physicist who abandoned a lucrative career after discovering that elements of her work were being applied to weapons development, Jack, an American politician attempting to make sense of his recent defeat as a presidential candidate, and Tom, a poet, Jack's close friend, and a disillusioned former political speechwriter, while they wander around Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy. The film introduces systems theory and systems thinking, along with insights into modern physical theories such as quantum mechanics and particle physics. Political and social problems, and alternative solutions, are a focus of the film. However, the specific problems and solutions are not the primary concern; rather, different perspectives are presented through which these problems can be viewed and considered. Sonia Hoffman's perspective is referred to as the holistic, or systems theory, perspective. Thomas Harriman, the poet, recites the poem "Enigmas" by Pablo Neruda (based on the translation by Robert Bly) at the end of the movie, concluding the core discussion.

On Christmas Eve, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective John McClane arrives in Los Angeles, hoping to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly, at a party held by her employer, the Nakatomi Corporation. He is driven to Nakatomi Plaza by a limo driver, Argyle, who offers to wait for McClane in the garage. While McClane washes himself, the tower is seized by German ex-radical Hans Gruber and his heavily armed team, including Karl and Theo. Everyone in the tower is taken hostage except for McClane, who slips away, and Argyle, who remains oblivious to events. Gruber is posing as a terrorist to steal the $640 million in untraceable bearer bonds in the building's vault. He kills executive Joseph Takagi after failing to extract the access code from him and tasks Theo with breaking into the vault. The terrorists are alerted to McClane's presence, and Karl's brother, Tony, is sent after him. McClane kills Tony and takes his weapon and radio, which he uses to contact the skeptical Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Sergeant Al Powell is sent to investigate. Meanwhile, McClane kills more terrorists and recovers their bag of C-4 and detonators. Realizing Powell is about to leave, having found nothing amiss, McClane drops a terrorist's corpse onto his car. After Powell calls for backup, a SWAT team attempts to storm the building but is counterattacked by the terrorists. McClane throws some C-4 down an elevator shaft, causing an explosion that kills some of the terrorists and ends the counterattack. Holly's co-worker Harry Ellis attempts to negotiate on Gruber's behalf but is killed by Gruber when McClane refuses to surrender. While checking the explosives on the roof, Gruber encounters McClane and pretends to be an escaped hostage; McClane gives Gruber a gun. Gruber attempts to shoot McClane but finds the weapon is unloaded, and he is saved only by the intervention of other terrorists. McClane escapes but is injured by shattered glass and loses the detonators. Outside, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents take control. They order the power to be shut off, which, as Gruber had anticipated, disables the final vault lock so his team can collect the bonds. The FBI agrees to Gruber's demand for a helicopter, intending to send helicopter gunships to eliminate the group. McClane realizes Gruber plans to blow the roof to kill the hostages and fake his team's deaths. Karl, enraged by Tony's death, attacks McClane and is seemingly killed. Gruber sees a news report by Richard Thornburg on McClane's children and infers that he is Holly's husband. The hostages are taken to the roof while Gruber keeps Holly with him. McClane drives the hostages from the roof just before Gruber detonates it and destroys the approaching FBI helicopters. Meanwhile, Theo retrieves an escape vehicle from the parking garage but is knocked out by Argyle, who has been following events on the limo's CB radio. A weary and battered McClane finds Holly with Gruber and his remaining henchman. McClane seemingly surrenders to Gruber and is about to be shot but grabs his concealed service pistol taped to his back and uses his last two bullets to wound Gruber and kill his accomplice. Gruber crashes through a window but grabs onto Holly's wristwatch and makes a last-ditch attempt to kill the pair. McClane unclasps the watch, and Gruber falls to his death. Outside, Karl ambushes McClane and Holly, only to be shot dead by Powell. Holly punches Thornburg when he attempts to interview McClane. Argyle crashes through the parking garage door in the limo and drives McClane and Holly away together.