Jim Bloggs and his wife Hilda are an aging couple, living in an isolated cottage in rural Sussex, England. Jim frequently travels to the local town to read newspapers and keep abreast of the deteriorating international situation regarding the Soviet–Afghan War, which is threatening to escalate into a nuclear conflict between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. Hearing a radio news report stating that a war may be only days away, Jim follows the instructions outlined in the government-issued Protect and Survive pamphlets to build a fallout shelter, including covering the windows with white paint and readying sacks to lie down in when a nuclear strike hits. Jim and Hilda are confident they can survive, as they did the Second World War, and that a Soviet defeat will ensue. As a radio transmission warns of an imminent ICBM strike and civil defence sirens sound, the couple rush to their shelter, just escaping as distant shock waves batter their home. They emerge after a few nights to find all utilities, services, and communications destroyed. Jim (incorrectly) speculates that most have temporarily ceased due to "wartime measures". The couple remains stoic and tries to resume their daily routine, preparing tea and dinners on a camping stove, noting numerous errands they will have to run once the crisis passes, and trying to renew their evaporated water stock with rainwater. Fallout dust is visible in the air throughout the house. Jim believes that a rescue operation will soon be launched to help civilians. The couple venture outside where radioactive ash has blocked out the sun and caused heavy fog. They are oblivious to the dead and dying animals strewn across the landscape, the destroyed buildings of the nearby town, and the scorched vegetation outside their cottage. Their optimism begins to fade due to the prolonged isolation, lack of food and water, growing radiation sickness, and absence of communication from the authorities. Jim worries that the Soviets will soon invade, experiencing a vision where a Soviet soldier breaks into their house. Hilda, whose symptoms are worsening, encounters a rat in the dried toilet, which traumatises her. Coupled with her worsening symptoms - bloody diarrhea, bleeding gums - she begins to lose hope. Jim tries to comfort her, still optimistic that he may be able to get medications for her from the chemist. After a few days, the Bloggs are practically bedridden, and Hilda is despondent when her hair begins to fall out. Jim clings to his belief that emergency services will arrive. Hilda suggests they lie down in the paper sacks. Jim, now resigned to their fate, agrees. As they crawl into the sacks Jim tries reciting prayers, including Psalm 23, but, forgetting the lines, starts to read " The Charge of the Light Brigade ", whose militaristic and ironic undertones distress the dying Hilda, who weakly asks him not to continue. Finally, Jim's voice mumbles away into silence as he finishes the line, "...rode the Six Hundred..." Outside, the smoke and ash-filled sky begins to clear, revealing the sun rising through the gloom. Towards the end of the credits, a Morse code signal taps out "MAD" - mutually assured destruction.

An 18-year-old boy and his girlfriend walk home from church. The boy gets abducted and then stripped naked. When the boy's family paid the ransom, he was dumped on a highway with an ear cut off. In December 2003, former Force-Recon Marine and CIA SAD/SOG officer John Creasy travels to Mexico to visit his old friend Paul Rayburn, who convinces him to take a bodyguard position with Samuel Ramos, a wealthy Mexico City automaker. He needs protection for his young daughter, Lupita "Pita" Ramos, due to a kidnapping insurance policy that requires a bodyguard to be in place. Struggling with alcoholism and guilt from his past, Creasy attempts suicide with his own handgun, but a failed 9mm primer prompts him to eject the round, preserve it, and reconsider his fate. Revitalized by the thought that he is meant to live, he takes on his role as Pita's protector, reducing his drinking and finding solace in the Bible. As he bonds with the child, coaching her competitive swimming, their relationship flourishes. One day, while waiting outside Pita's piano lesson, Creasy recognizes a car that has been following them. As two federal policemen block the street, he realizes Pita is about to be kidnapped. Creasy engages the attackers, killing four but sustaining serious injuries while Pita is abducted. As authorities investigate, Creasy becomes a suspect, but Reforma reporter Mariana Garcia Guerrero questions the narrative. Federal police officer Miguel Manzano relocates him to a veterinary clinic to protect him from corrupt officials. The kidnappers, led by the unseen "Voice", demand a $10 million ransom, which Samuel complies with, aided by Police Lieutenant Victor Fuentes. However, when the ransom drop is ambushed and the Voice's nephew is killed, the Voice threatens the Ramos family, stating that it is "too late" and Pita will be lost forever as retribution. Manzano warns Creasy about the powerful "brotherhood" involved, composed of corrupt officials and criminals, and Creasy vows to kill everyone connected to the kidnapping. With Rayburn's help, Creasy assembles an arsenal and begins his quest for revenge. He brutally interrogates the getaway driver for information, leading him to confront several kidnappers and recover incriminating evidence. Garcia Guerrero discovers Fuentes's involvement in the brotherhood, prompting her and Manzano to assist Creasy in his mission. Creasy's rampage intensifies as he confronts Fuentes, learning that Samuel's lawyer, Jordan Kalfus, orchestrated the kidnapping to claim insurance money. Creasy arrives to confront Kalfus at his house but finds the lawyer's beheaded corpse floating in the pool. He then confronts Samuel about his involvement with the kidnapping and the ruse is revealed: Samuel and Kalfus agreed to orchestrate the kidnapping in order to pay off old debts belonging to the former's father. Both had expected Lupita to be safely returned by paying off the ransom with the remaining insurance money. However, the ambush by Fuentes caused the plan to collapse, with Samuel killing Kalfus in a rage. Despondent over this revelation, Creasy gives Samuel a gun and the bullet he once used in his suicide attempt. Samuel kills himself as Creasy leaves. Garcia Guerrero and Manzano trace the ransom money and uncover the Voice's identity. Creasy captures the Voice's brother, who shoots him during the melee. Creasy learns the ringleader's real name is Daniel Sanchez. They arrange an exchange for Pita, and during the meeting, Creasy, injured but determined, reassures her of his love before she is sent to safety. As Creasy is taken away to the Voice, he dies of his injuries en route; later that day, Manzano executes the Voice during the latter's arrest.

The central character of the film is Harry Melchior, based on the real tunneler, Hasso Herschel. Despite being imprisoned for several years for his role in the June 1953 uprising in East Germany, Melchior competes for and wins the national swimming championship in 1961. With the aid of a false passport and disguise, Harry succeeds in fleeing to West Berlin. His best friend, Matthis, manages to escape through the underground sewer, but Matthis's pregnant wife Carola is caught and remains in East Berlin. Harry's beloved sister, Lotte, and her husband and daughter are ambivalent about leaving the confines of the GDR. Committed to getting their loved ones out of the GDR but knowing that ground routes are heavily guarded, Harry and Matthis have the idea of going underground. Matthis is an engineer by training. They link up with a small circle of others, initially Vittorio 'Vic' Constanza and Fred von Klausnitz. They find an unused factory building close to the Wall that has ample underground space. They are eventually joined by Fritzi Scholz, whose fiancé, Heiner, is also trapped in the east. The work is slow, hard and sometimes dangerous, and the group reluctantly agrees to take in several more helpers. Over a span of months, the tunnel takes shape following Matthis' design, with the necessary shoring, lights and even a railbed. Discovering a film crew from NBC in the city one day, the leaders convince the network to fund their efforts in exchange for exclusive footage of the digging and eventual escape. In the meantime, communication with the would-be rescuees in the east is necessary but hazardous. Vic, an American citizen, can pass through the border freely. He is in contact with Lotte and with Carola. The latter, however, has been blackmailed by the Stasi to inform; if she does not cooperate, the state will take her soon-to-be-born baby. Carola informs on Vic and he is detained when trying to cross back to West Berlin. He is released after a while but cannot go back to the east. Fritzi's love, Heiner, makes a futile attempt to cross the barbed wire and walls, but is shot by the East German border guards and left to die in a scene mirroring the true case of Peter Fechter. The American soldiers prevent Harry from climbing the wall to help Heiner. Overseeing the efforts to thwart tunnelers and other efforts at "illegal emigration" is Colonel Kröger. Finally the pieces are all in place for the planned escape of about 30 people. Word is spread by surreptitious means, though the Stasi are watching closely. They go to the home of Fred's widowed mother to take her into custody, but she takes her own life first. Carola has admitted to Lotte that she has been an informant but swears she can now be trusted. In a ruse that means leaving her baby with Lotte's family, she leads her Stasi tail to a remote location far from the actual escape site. In the meantime, Fritzi has crossed the border with a fake passport to guide the escapees through the tunnel. After the true location of the escape is discovered, Harry enters East Berlin through the tunnel and, surprising a border guard, takes his uniform, helmet and gun, and blends in with the troops swarming the area in order to send them in wrong directions. The would-be escapees gather in a café across from the building where the tunnel begins, and Fritzi gradually escorts them over. Tense moments ensue as Colonel Kröger closes in, and pursues the escapees through the tunnel. A sign has been erected in the tunnel marking the boundary of the French sector, and the pursuing guards have the political sense to know they cannot go further.

The Space Shuttle Explorer, commanded by veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski, is in Earth orbit to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr. Ryan Stone is aboard on her first space mission, to perform hardware upgrades on the telescope. During a spacewalk, Mission Control in Houston warns Explorer ' s crew about a rapidly expanding cloud of space debris caused by the Russians shooting down a defunct spy satellite, and orders the crew to return to Earth immediately. Communication with Mission Control is lost shortly after, as more communication satellites are disabled by debris. Debris strikes Explorer and Hubble, tearing Stone from the shuttle. Kowalski, using a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), rescues her and they return to Explorer, discovering that it has suffered catastrophic damage and the rest of the crew are dead. Kowalski decides they should use the MMU to reach the International Space Station (ISS), which is in orbit about 1,450 km (900 mi) away. He estimates that they have 90 minutes before the debris field completes an orbit and threatens them again. On their way to the ISS, the two discuss Stone's home life and her daughter, who died young in an accident. As they approach the station, they see that the ISS's crew has evacuated using one of its two Soyuz spacecraft, with the remaining craft exhibiting damage and unable to return to Earth. Kowalski suggests using it to travel to the nearby Chinese Tiangong space station, 100 km (60 mi) away, to board its similar Shenzhou spacecraft and return to Earth. They try to grab onto the ISS, but only make tenuous connection to the Soyuz's parachute cords, which are not strong enough for them both. Despite Stone's protests, Kowalski detaches himself to save her from drifting away with him. Stone enters the ISS as Kowalski floats away. Unable to establish communication with him, she concludes that she is the mission's sole survivor. Inside the station, a fire breaks out, forcing Stone to rush to the Soyuz. As she maneuvers it away from the ISS, the tangled parachute tethers snag, preventing the spacecraft from leaving. She performs a spacewalk to cut the cables, succeeding just as the debris field returns, destroying the station. Stone angles the Soyuz towards Tiangong but discovers that the engine has no fuel. After an attempt at radio communication with an Inuk on Earth, Stone resigns herself to her fate and shuts off the cabin's oxygen supply to commit suicide. As she begins to lose consciousness, she experiences a hallucination of Kowalski telling her to rig the Soyuz's soft landing rockets to propel the capsule towards Tiangong. Stone regains the will to go on, restoring the spacecraft's oxygen flow and rigging the landing rockets accordingly. Unable to dock with Tiangong, Stone ejects herself from the Soyuz and uses a fire extinguisher as a makeshift thruster to travel to the rapidly deorbiting station. She enters Tiangong ' s Shenzhou capsule just as the station enters the upper atmosphere, and undocks. The Shenzhou capsule re-enters the atmosphere and lands in a lake. Radio communication from Houston informs Stone that she has been tracked on radar and that rescue crews are on their way. Stone opens the hatch and sheds her space suit, allowing her to reach the surface and crawl onto the beach before standing and walking away.

In 1963, Stephen Hawking, a postgraduate astrophysics student at the University of Cambridge, begins a relationship with literature student Jane Wilde. Although Stephen is intelligent, both his friends and fellow academics are worried about his lack of a thesis topic. After attending a lecture by Roger Penrose on black holes with his advisor, Prof. Dennis Sciama, Stephen speculates that these might have been part of the universe's creation and decides on his thesis. However, soon Stephen's muscles begin to fail, causing him to lose coordination. After a bad fall, he is diagnosed with early-onset progressive degenerative motor neurone disease (MND) that will eventually leave him unable to move, swallow, or even breathe. With no treatment options, he is given approximately two years to live. The doctor assures Stephen that his brain will not be affected, so his thoughts and intelligence will remain intact, but eventually, he will be unable to communicate with them. Stephen develops severe depression, becoming reclusive and focusing on his work. Jane confesses she loves him and that she intends to stay, even as his condition worsens. They marry and have their first son, Robert. Once his walking ability deteriorates, he begins using a wheelchair. Inspired by Penrose's work on spacetime singularities at the centre of black holes, Stephen presents his doctoral thesis viva, extrapolating that a black hole created the universe in a Big Bang and it will end in a Big Crunch. After the Hawkings have their daughter Lucy, Jane becomes frustrated having to focus on the children, as well as Stephen's slowly degenerating health while his fame increases, all at the expense of her academic work. Stephen tells her he will understand if she needs help. In the 1970s, Jane joins a church choir, where she meets and becomes close friends with Jonathan, a widower. She employs him as Robert's piano teacher, and Jonathan befriends the entire family, helping Stephen with his illness, supporting Jane, and playing with the children. When Jane gives birth to another son, Timothy, Stephen's mother asks her if the baby is Jonathan's. This causes outrage and Jonathan is appalled, but when he and Jane are alone, they admit the depth of their feelings for one another. He distances himself from the family, but Stephen tells him that Jane needs him. As the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, Stephen goes on to develop a theory of the visibility of black holes that emit radiation, becoming a world-renowned physicist. In the 1980s, while on holiday in Bordeaux, Stephen falls ill and is rushed to a hospital. The doctor informs Jane that he has pneumonia and the tracheotomy he needs to survive will leave him mute. She agrees to the surgery. Stephen learns to use a spelling board and uses it to communicate with his new nurse, Elaine Mason. He receives a computer with a built-in voice synthesizer and uses it to write a book, A Brief History of Time, which becomes an international best-seller. In the late 1980s, Stephen tells Jane he has been invited to the United States to accept an award and will take Elaine with him. Jane faces the fact that the marriage has not been working, saying she "did her best", and they agree to divorce. While Stephen has fallen in love with Elaine, Jane and Jonathan reunite. Stephen goes to deliver a public lecture where he sees a student drop a pen. He imagines getting up to return it, almost crying at the reminder of how his disease has affected him. He then gives a speech telling audiences to pursue their ambitions despite the harsh reality of life: "While there is life, there is hope." On being made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1989, Stephen invites Jane to go with him to meet Queen Elizabeth II, where they share a happy day together with their three children. An extended closing series of select moments from the film, shown in reverse, back to the moment Stephen first saw Jane – the reversal is reminiscent of Stephen's research methodology of reversing time to understand the beginning of the universe. An epilogue reveals that A Brief History of Time has sold over ten million copies worldwide; Stephen declined an offer of a knighthood and has no plans to retire; Jane earned her PhD in medieval Spanish poetry and married Jonathan; and both Stephen and Jane remain friends, sharing three grandchildren.

After eight months' treatment in a mental health facility for bipolar disorder, Patrizio "Pat" Solitano Jr. is released into the care of his parents, Patrizio Sr. and Dolores, at his childhood home in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. His primary focus is to reconcile with his ex-wife, Nikki. She has moved away and obtained a restraining order against him after he found her in the shower with another man and badly beat him. Pat's therapist, Cliff Patel, tries to convince him to keep taking his medication because a repeat of his violent outbursts might send him back to the clinic. Pat tells him that he has a new outlook on life: He attempts to see the good, or silver lining, in all that he experiences. Meanwhile, Pat experiences a series of anxiety attacks. Pat attends dinner at his best friend Ronnie's house, where Ronnie's sister-in-law, Tiffany Maxwell, a widow with an unnamed disorder, is also a guest. They connect, talking about different psychiatric medications they have taken to manage their mental illnesses. She tries to offer him casual sex, but Pat is focused on getting Nikki back. Trying to get closer to him, Tiffany offers to deliver a letter to Nikki if, in return, he partners with her in an upcoming dance competition. Convinced that helping Tiffany will show Nikki he has changed and has developed sensitivity to others, Pat agrees. Pat and Tiffany start practicing over the following weeks. Hoping to open a restaurant, Patrizio Sr. has resorted to illegal bookmaking. Having bet most of his money on a Philadelphia Eagles game, Patrizio asks Pat to attend for good luck, irrationally believing Pat's attention to the game affects its outcome. Pat points out this is OCD ideation but appeases his father. Pat asks Tiffany for time off from practice to attend the game. She gives him a typed reply from Nikki, which cautiously hints they may be able to reconcile. Before entering the stadium, Pat and his brother Jake get into a fight with racist fans and are arrested. The Eagles lose the game, and Patrizio is furious. When Patrizio claims that the Eagles lost because of Tiffany's newfound involvement in Pat's life, she refutes his allegations by pointing out that Philadelphia sports teams had done better whenever she and Pat were together. Convinced, Patrizio makes a parlay with his friend Randy: If the Eagles win their week 16 game against the Dallas Cowboys and Tiffany and Pat score five out of ten in their dance competition, he will win back double the money he lost on the first bet. Pat is reluctant, but Tiffany, Dolores, and Patrizio conspire to persuade him to dance in the competition, telling him Nikki will be there. Noticing that the letter from Nikki includes the phrase "If it's me reading the signs...", frequently used by Tiffany, he realizes that Tiffany fabricated the letter. Tiffany, Pat, and their friends and family arrive at the competition on the night of the football game. Tiffany despairs when she sees Nikki in the audience, invited by Ronnie and his wife Veronica. They want Nikki to lift her restraining order on Pat, giving them the chance to reconcile. Tiffany starts to drink heavily at the bar. Pat finds Tiffany moments before their turn and drags her onto the dance floor. They begin their routine as the Eagles defeat the Cowboys. After their set, Tiffany and Pat receive an average score of exactly 5.0 points amid cheers from friends and family and confused looks from the crowd. Pat approaches Nikki and whispers into her ear. Seeing this, Tiffany runs off. Pat Sr. tells his son that unlike Nikki, Tiffany really loves him, and he should not let her go, as it would haunt him for the rest of his life. Pat catches Tiffany and hands her a letter in which he admits to knowing she forged the letter earlier. He confesses that he loved her from the moment they became acquainted, but that it took him a long time to realize and accept it. They share a kiss. Patrizio opens a restaurant with the money he has won, and Pat and Tiffany begin a relationship, no longer wearing their wedding rings.

Thomas Becket is an advisor and companion of the carousing King Henry II. Henry appoints Becket as Lord Chancellor to have a close confidant in this position whom he can completely control. Henry is less interested in his royal duties than drunken forays in the royal hunting grounds and pursuing peasant women. He becomes increasingly dependent on Becket, a Saxon commoner, who arranges these debaucheries when he is not busy running Henry's court. This foments great resentment on the part of Henry's Norman noblemen, who distrust and envy this Saxon upstart, as well as Henry's wife Queen Eleanor and Henry's mother Empress Matilda, who see Becket as an unnatural and unseemly influence upon the King. Henry finds himself in continuous conflict with the elderly Archbishop of Canterbury, who opposes the taxation of Church property to support Henry's military campaigns in France. During one of his campaigns in coastal France, he receives news that the archbishop has died. In a burst of inspiration, Henry exercises his prerogative to pick the next Archbishop, and informs an astonished Becket that he is the royal choice. Shortly thereafter, Becket sides with the Church, throwing Henry into a fury. One of the main bones of contention is Thomas' excommunication of Lord Gilbert, one of Henry's most loyal stalwarts, for seizing and ordering the killing of a priest who had been accused of sexual indiscretions with a young girl, before the priest can even be handed over for ecclesiastical trial. Gilbert then refused to acknowledge his transgressions and seek absolution. The King has a dramatic secret meeting with the Bishop of London in his cathedral. He lays out his plan to remove Becket through scandal and innuendo, which the envious Bishop of London quickly agrees to. These attempts fall flat when Becket, in full ecclesiastic garb, confronts his accusers and announces that as Archbishop he will petition the Pope for an ecclesiastical trial, causing Henry to laugh and bitterly note the irony of having his friend turn into his enemy. Becket escapes to France where he encounters the conniving yet sympathetic King Louis. King Louis sees in Becket a means by which he can further his favourite pastime, tormenting the English. Louis provides refuge for Becket at the Abbey of Saint Martin while the English send emissaries to retrieve Becket. Becket then travels to the Vatican, where he begs the Pope to allow him to renounce his position and retire to a monastery as an ordinary priest. The Pope reminds Becket that he has an obligation as a matter of principle to return to England and take a stand against civil interference in Church matters. Becket yields to this decision and asks Louis to arrange a meeting with Henry on the beaches at Normandy. Henry asks Becket whether or not he loved him and Becket replied that he loved Henry to the best of his ability. A shaky truce is declared and Becket is allowed to return to England. Henry then rapidly sinks into drunken fixation over Becket and his perceived betrayal. The barons worsen his mood by pointing out that Becket has become a folk hero among the vanquished Saxons, who are ever restive and resentful of their Norman conquerors. During a drunken rage, Henry asks " Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest? " His faithful barons hear this and proceed quickly to Canterbury, where they put Thomas and his Saxon deputy, Brother John, to the sword. A badly shaken Henry then undergoes a penance by whipping at the hands of Saxon monks. Henry, fresh from his whipping, informs the barons that the ones who killed Becket will be found and justly punished. He then publicly proclaims to the crowd outside the church his arrangement for Thomas Becket to be canonised as a saint.

As a child during Nazi-era Germany, Kurt Barnert (inspired by Gerhard Richter) visits an exhibit of Degenerate Art in Dresden with his beautiful young aunt Elisabeth. While there, he is mesmerized by Girl with Blue Hair, a modernist sculpture by Eugen Hoffmann. At a Nazi Party rally, Elisabeth – a member of the National Socialist Women's League – is given the honour of personally presenting a bouquet of flowers to Adolf Hitler. Later that day at home, Kurt walks in on a nude Elisabeth playing Bach's music on the piano. She tells a startled Kurt to "never look away" because "everything that is true holds beauty in it." Elisabeth then begins hitting a single piano note repeatedly, rambling euphorically that she is "playing a concert for the Führer", and then begins deliriously hitting herself on the head with a broken ashtray. Elisabeth is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and is sterilized and later murdered under the Nazi euthanasia program. The doctor who orders her sterilization and death is gynecologist Professor Carl Seeband, a high-ranking member of the SS medical corps. After the war, Seeband is arrested by the Soviets and placed in a prison camp, facing likely execution. While there, he volunteers to assist a Red Army officer's wife during a complicated birth and saves the lives of both wife and child. The grateful Soviet officer releases Seeband and thereafter helps to keep evidence of his Nazi past from catching up with him. As an adult, Kurt studies painting at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, where he falls in love with a young fashion design student named Elisabeth (like his aunt), whom he calls Ellie. She is the daughter of Professor Seeband, though none of them are aware of their shared history and connection. Kurt excels in his studies, but is forced to complete paintings that reflect socialist realism, an ideology and school of art with which he does not identify. Eventually, he meets Ellie's father, who is now toeing the East German socialist party line. Seeband sees Kurt as genetically inferior to, and therefore unsuitable for, his daughter, and goes to great lengths to sabotage the young couple's relationship, even performing an abortion on Elisabeth based on a made-up health concern when she becomes pregnant with Kurt's child. However, the young couple's love strengthens and eventually the two get married. Fearing prosecution after the Soviet officer who had been protecting him is transferred to Moscow, Seeband flees East Germany for West Germany. Kurt and Ellie flee to West Germany themselves several years later. Since Kurt is already 30 years old, he lies about his age to be admitted to the famous Düsseldorf Art Academy, where he is able to study and practice art more freely than he could in East Germany. His teacher, Professor Antonius van Verten (based on Joseph Beuys) recognizes Kurt's deep personal experience, but also sees that he is struggling to find his own voice, having been trained only in figurative painting, a medium considered outdated and bourgeois by the standards of the school. Kurt shares adjoining studio space with fellow student and confidant Harry Preusser (inspired by Günther Uecker), who experiments with hammering nails into boards to produce large artworks. Only when Kurt finds a newspaper article about a captured Nazi doctor who was Seeband's superior does he have his artistic breakthrough. He starts using his figurative painting skills to copy black-and-white photographs onto canvases, adding a mysterious sfumato blur. Among the sources for the new paintings are Seeband's passport photographs and photographs of Kurt with Aunt Elisabeth from his own family album. When Seeband sees a painting that is a collage of himself, the captured Nazi doctor, and Kurt with Elisabeth, he abruptly leaves the studio. It is unclear if he is simply overwhelmed at being reminded of his past, just realized Elisabeth was Kurt's relative, or believes his son-in-law has uncovered his secret, but Kurt, for his part, still seems to be unaware of the connection. After years of infertility due to the abortion, Ellie becomes pregnant, and Kurt celebrates the moment she told him by painting her nude. Some time later, he gets his first art show, where his art impresses the critics, even though they completely misunderstand and misinterpret it. He rejoices in finally finding his voice and his place in the world.

Ratna is an on premise maid employed by Ashwin and his girlfriend, Sabina. Ashwin has recently returned to Mumbai from New York, leaving behind his dream to be a writer, after learning his brother is not well. He stays back to support his family emotionally when his brother dies.Ratna is an independent person with self-respect. However, as a widow from a small village her prospects are extremely limited. She is working in Mumbai to be self-sufficient and also financially helps her family, and encourages her sister to study. It was her dream to study which she could not fulfill because of marriage and now she wants her sister to get educated. She also nurtures a dream to become a fashion designer. The movie opens with Ratna being called back for work as Ashwin has left his to-be wife, Sabina on their wedding day and has come back home. From the conversations with his friends and family we learn that Sabina had cheated on him and he wasn't really in love with her. He stays low spirited for days until Ratna, not able to see him unhappy, narrates her story of losing her husband after just 4 months when she was 19 years old but now she is an independent woman who is supporting her family. She says "life never stops", implying we should move on with our life whatever may come. She stays back to work at his house, defying the possibility of gaining a bad reputation for living with a man alone. We gradually learn that Ashwin is a nice person who does not care about class differences and respects Ratna like any other person in his life. He speaks up for her when an acquaintance of his scolds Ratna for accidentally spilling a drink on her. Over time Ashwin learns about Ratna's dream to become a fashion designer when Ratna asks Ashwin's permission to go to tailoring classes and expresses her wish to become a fashion designer. Ashwin initially thinks light of her desire, but immediately corrects himself and apologises to Ratna, saying 'everyone has the right to dream'. Ratna empathises with Ashwin as he is stuck in Mumbai for his family, and is not able to follow his dream to write. They sync emotionally. Ratna gifts Ashwin a handmade shirt for his birthday. He wears the shirt to work that same day, agreeing to Ratna's request not to tell anyone she made it for him. Meanwhile, Ratna learns that her sister is getting ready for marriage before completing her diploma. She is disappointed to know her sister is more enthusiastic to come to Mumbai than to complete her studies. But Ashwin consoles her by saying that the groom might be a good person, who wants his wife to be independent. He gives her some money as a gift for her sister's wedding even though she resists. He calls her when she is away for the wedding to check in with her. The attention makes her uncomfortable, and emotionally confused. Upon her return to work for Ashwin, the dynamic changes between them. Ashwin becomes enamoured with Ratna. He also gives Ratna a sewing machine as a gift. Soon after, on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, Ashwin returns home to find a carefree Ratna dancing with a crowd of people celebrating the festival. After a silent but charged elevator ride up to his apartment, Ashwin expresses his feelings. Ratna allows Ashwin's advances for a moment while they share a kiss, then strongly expresses her will against any possible relationship. When Ashwin asks her to go out with him, she takes him to the building rooftop where they share some thoughts and have a conversation. Ashwin discourages her from calling him 'sir' while Ratna asks him to forget about their encounter that night. When Ashwin's friend learns of his feelings, he discourages him from being in a relationship with a maid and reminds him of the social repercussions of such a relationship. He says that for Ratna's sake, he should not act on his feelings. The next day, Ratna, as the maid, is asked to cook for a party at Ashwin's mother's place. Ashwin unintentionally makes Ratna uncomfortable by asking if he should wait for her to go back home, provoking mockery from other household employees. When they return to Ashwin's apartment, Ratna makes it clear that they cannot be in a relationship as she will not be welcome among his family and friends, and vice-versa, and that if her family came to know of their relationship, she would be forced to return to a restrictive village life. When he insists on being together, she decides to quit her job and leaves, despite Ashwin's request that he might help her in any way even if she no longer wants to be in the house. She tells him not to worry for her or contact her. Ratna moves to her sister's house, while Ashwin tells his father that he is in love with Ratna and will be moving back to New York. After some time, we see Ratna getting hired by Ashwin's friend who is a fashion designer, through Ashwin's recommendation. Ratna rushes off to Ashwin's house to see him but finds the door bolted and the flat vacant. Dejected, she goes to the rooftop, where she unexpectedly receives a call from Ashwin. Finally, understanding his insistence on seeing her as an equal, she reconciles with her identity crisis and responds to his call by addressing him by his first name "Ashwin". This also indicates that despite social differences, there can be love.

Nicholas Van Orton is an investment banker in San Francisco. He is very successful and wealthy, but also cold and condescending, as well as lonely and reclusive. He remains haunted by the death of his father, who committed suicide on his 48th birthday by jumping off the roof of the family mansion. Therefore, Nicholas is feeling grim on his 48th birthday. On the day, he is surprisingly visited by his estranged younger brother, Conrad, who gifts him an unusual present—a voucher for a "game" offered by Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Though skeptical, Nicholas cannot help but be interested and he goes to the CRS office to apply; the time-consuming psychological and physical examinations required irritate him. He is later informed that his application has been rejected. This angers him. Nicholas returns home one evening to find a wooden clown in his driveway, which he drags inside. While watching the Cable Financial Network (CFN), the anchor begins talking to Nicholas through his TV screen. The anchor tells Nicholas that he is being watched by a tiny camera in the clown's head and provides him with the telephone number for a CRS 24-hour emergency hotline. He warns Nicholas not to call the hotline asking about the object of the game, as "figuring that out is the object of the game." More bizarre events continue; Nicholas initially thinks CRS is simply staging elaborate pranks, but he comes to believe it is real when his business, reputation, and safety are endangered. He meets a waitress, Christine, who also becomes involved. A panic-stricken Conrad visits Nicholas and apologizes, claiming CRS has attacked him. An argument breaks out between the two brothers, resulting in Conrad running away—leaving Nicholas on his own. Nicholas gets into a taxi; after locking the doors, the driver jumps out before the car crashes into San Francisco Bay. Nicholas manages to escape the sinking car, using a tool mysteriously left for him a day before. He reaches the surface and contacts police, but they find the CRS office abandoned. With no one else to turn to, Nicholas finds Christine's home and discovers she is a CRS employee. When she tells him they are being watched, Nicholas attacks a nearby camera, and armed CRS personnel swarm the house. When they fire at the two of them, they flee to a Van Orton home outside of the city. Christine has told Nicholas that CRS has drained his bank accounts by guessing his passwords using the psychological tests he completed, but a call to his lawyer suggests the money remains intact. Nicholas then begins to feel dizzy and realizes Christine has drugged him. As he loses consciousness, she admits she is part of the scam and says he made a fatal mistake in giving his card security code over the phone. Nicholas wakes entombed alive in a Mexican cemetery. He sells his watch (a gift from his mother) to return to San Francisco, only to find his mansion foreclosed and most of his possessions removed. He contacts the hotel where Conrad was staying, and is told his brother has been committed to a mental institution following a nervous breakdown. Nicholas retrieves a hidden gun and finds his ex-wife to ask for help. While apologizing to her for his emotional neglectfulness, he learns that Jim Feingold, the CRS employee who conducted his tests, is an actor working in television advertisements. He finds Jim and forces him to find the real CRS office, finds Christine there and takes her hostage, demanding to be taken to the head of CRS. Pursued by CRS guards, Nicholas takes Christine to the roof. Christine, realizing Nicholas's gun is not a prop, frantically tells him it is only a game; his finances are intact, and his family and friends are waiting on the other side of the door. He refuses to believe her, and Nicholas shoots the first person to emerge—Conrad, bearing a bottle of champagne. Devastated, Nicholas tries to commit suicide by leaping off the roof, but lands on a giant air cushion in a banquet hall. He is greeted by Conrad and the rest of the actors from the game, revealing that the gun was a prop. Everything had been staged by Conrad for Nicholas's birthday present. After a birthday party with friends, Christine (whose real name is Claire) declines Nicholas's offer of a date because she has another job lined up in Australia. She instead suggests they have coffee together at the airport, ending the final scene with Nicholas looking half-tempted, half-cautious.

Bruno, an eight-year-old German boy living in Berlin, is uprooted to occupied Poland with his family after his father Ralf, an SS officer, is promoted. The boy notices an extermination camp from his bedroom window, but believes it to be a farm. His mother Elsa forbids him from going in the back garden. Ralf arranged for Herr Liszt, a private tutor, to home school Bruno and his elder sister, Gretel. Liszt's anti-semitic teachings and Gretel's crush on her father's subordinate, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler, make her a fanatical Nazi supporter. Bruno struggles to absorb the racist rhetoric after Pavel, a doctor-turned-family slave, tends to a minor injury Bruno suffers. Bruno's explorations of nearby woods takes him to a barbed wire fence surrounding the camp where he befriends Shmuel, a boy his age. They meet at the fence regularly, and Bruno learns Shmuel is a Jew brought to the camp with his parents. Bruno sneaks him food. Kurt inadvertently reveals to Elsa that the smell from the camp is from the crematoria, and she angrily confronts her husband. When Kurt reveals his father left Germany for Switzerland to avoid national service, Ralf berates him, and Kurt in turn beats Pavel for spilling a glass of wine. Ralf later informs his family of Kurt's transfer to the Eastern Front but Elsa realises the real reason for his transfer was his refusal to renounce his father. Bruno sees Shmuel working in his home and offers him cake. Kurt finds them talking and berates Shmuel. After seeing him eating, Shmuel informs Kurt that Bruno offered the cake, which he fearfully denies. Later, Bruno tries to apologise to Shmuel, but he does not reappear at the fence for several days. A short time after, Bruno clandestinely watches his father and other officers reviewing a propaganda film depicting the camp's conditions as positive. Shmuel eventually reappears at the fence, but with visible injuries. Bruno apologises to Shmuel, who forgives him. Ralf's mother Nathalie, who disapproves of the Nazi regime, is killed by an Allied bombing raid on Berlin. At the funeral, Elsa tries to remove a wreath from the Führer out of respect for Nathalie and her beliefs. Ralf stops her, and they quarrel. Elsa informs Ralf she does not want the children living in the vicinity of the camp and Ralf tells Bruno and Gretel their mother is taking them to live with their extended family until the war is over. Bruno visits Shmuel before he leaves, and on learning Shmuel's father has disappeared from a work party, decides to help Shmuel find him. Shmuel provides Bruno with a prisoner's striped outfit and cap, but they're captured by the guards after Bruno digs into camp under the fence. Gretel and Elsa burst into Ralf's office during a meeting when they realise Bruno is missing. A search dog tracks Bruno's scent to his discarded clothing by the wire. Ralf enters the camp as a group of prisoners are processed in a gas chamber for extermination by pesticide gas. Bruno and Shmuel have been killed, leaving Ralf, Elsa, and Gretel devastated.