Lord Jim

On a fully rigged naval training ship, Jim proves himself as a capable cadet and rises to the rank of first officer under Captain Marlow. His leadership and skill foreshadow a promising, if restless, career at sea. The scene establishes Jim's ambition and the disciplined world of naval life.

Jim is injured and left behind in Java, sidelining his fast-rising career. He recovers and begins searching for the next available seafaring job. The setback redirects his path toward uncertain opportunities.

After he recovers, Jim signs on with the dilapidated freighter SS Patna, packed with hundreds of Muslims bound for Mecca. The voyage promises little safety as the aging hull strains under the load. Jim hopes for steady work, unaware of the peril ahead.

A violent storm threatens Patna, prompting panic and a mass exodus into lifeboats. In a moment of weakness, Jim joins the others and abandons the ship along with the crew. The passengers remain on board, setting up a later moral catastrophe.

Upon reaching port, the crew finds Patna already docked and intact, with the rest of the ship's crew missing. Jim confesses his guilt at an official inquiry and is stripped of his sailing papers, marking his fall from grace. He drifts into a life as a drifter, haunted by what happened.

Jim saves a boatload of gunpowder from sabotage, catching Stein's attention. Stein offers him a deadly mission: transport the powder and rifles by river to distant Patusan to help overthrow bandits led by The General. Jim accepts, hoping to redeem himself through action.

Schomberg is bribed to deny Stein the motorboat, so Jim takes a sailboat with two native crewmen. One crewman reveals himself as an agent of the General, kills the other sailor, and flees to warn his master. Jim manages to hide the cargo before he is captured.

Jim is tortured but refuses to divulge the cargo's location. That night, The Girl organizes a daring rescue that frees him from captivity.

Jim distributes arms and plans the attack on the General's stockade, aided by Waris, the son of Du-Ramin. After a brutal battle, he drives a barrel of gunpowder through a hail of bullets, blowing up the stockade and killing the General. Only Cornelius survives, escaping with the General's hidden treasure.

Jim is hailed as a hero in the aftermath, and Waris awards him the title tuan, meaning 'Lord'. He contemplates settling in Patusan with The Girl and a peaceful life after his hard-won victory. The villagers celebrate the stability he helped secure.

Cornelius and Schomberg recruit the notorious cutthroat 'Gentleman' Duncan Brown to steal the treasure, challenging Jim's hard-won peace. The village grows wary of this new threat and the fragile balance begins to tilt. Jim's leadership is tested as the town braces for possible violence.

Brown and his men pretend to depart but launch one last attempt at the treasure under heavy fog. Waris and Jim confront them and dispatch the intruders, though Waris is mortally wounded in the skirmish. The village reels from the betrayal and the price of greed.

Stein pleads with Du-Ramin to spare Jim, promising his fate will be sealed if he stays. Du-Ramin agrees to spare him only if Jim leaves the following morning, and Stein urges Jim to depart. Jim refuses to abandon the town he has come to love.

The next morning, as the funeral procession for the dead begins, Jim walks up to Du-Ramin to face his fate. Du-Ramin shoots him, and Jim's body is added to the procession, ending with the cremation of the dead villagers. The film ends on a somber note of sacrifice and contested loyalties.