The film begins with a striking black and white depiction of a chaotic 1920s silent movie set, where the aftermath of a stunt gone wrong unfolds, including the unsettling sight of a dead horse being hoisted from the water below.
In a rehabilitation hospital near Los Angeles, we meet Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), a lively 5-year-old girl of Romanian descent. Her arm is in a cast due to an accident in the orange grove where her immigrant family toils. While exploring the hospital’s grounds, Alexandria engages in a creative endeavor, crafting a note on delicate doily-like paper, which she accidentally drops. Instead of reaching Nurse Evelyn, whom she shares a special bond with, the note lands in the hands of another patient, Roy (Lee Pace), a Hollywood stuntman confined to a bed after becoming paralyzed from the waist down.
Curious about Alexandria's identity, Roy lightly mocks the content of her note before Alexandria swiftly retrieves it and darts away. Determined to win her attention, Roy introduces a captivating story about Alexander the Great, humorously attributing her name to the famous conqueror. As Alexandria's imagination ignites, she envisions a centurion wandering desolate lands. However, when Roy’s tale turns dire—Alexander lost without water—she becomes emotionally invested, asking, “Why?” This response prompts Roy to consider how to express the complexities of his tale in a way she may understand.
Their relationship grows as Roy enchants Alexandria with stories, cleverly trading tale-telling for morphine. Alexandria shares a close-knit rapport with Nurse Evelyn, who comforts her in distress, while secretly entangled in a romantic affair with a physician. The hospital setting becomes a source of fear for Alexandria as she encounters foreboding figures garbed in lead uniforms, embodying the unsettling realities of medical procedures.
As Alexandria continues her visits, Roy's narrative unfolds, starting with a Hindi man's plight to warn four prisoners of impending doom at the hands of the ruthless Governor Odious. Roy introduces a cast of characters—each reflecting Alexandria's own experiences—beginning with Otta Benga, whom she imagines as a friendly ice-delivery man, recounting his revolt against the Governor after losing his brother.
Roy also paints the story of the Indian, who represents the essence of heartbreak and vengeance as he loses his beloved to Governor Odious’s cruel intentions. Not to be forgotten, Luigi, a munitions expert whom Alexandria visualizes as the peg-legged stunt double, joins the narrative alongside the real Charles Darwin, who finds a rare butterfly but is humiliated by the Governor. With Roy as the embodiment of the fierce Black Bandit, tasked with the rescue of his brother, Alexandria empathizes deeply, revealing her own loss when she shares about her father's violent death at the hands of marauders.
The adventure thickens as Royal and the prisoners embark on a quest to overthrow Governor Odious, upheld by Alexandria's visions. She participates, dressed as the Black Bandit, facilitating the tale's journey while inadvertently becoming part of its victories and tragedies. Yet, their quest encounters dire challenges, leading to moments of despair when Alexandria, overcome by emotion, slips and suffers a critical injury, compelling a decisive shift in narrative focus.
Roy, in his turmoil, struggles to maintain potency in their shared escapism, battling his reality alongside the whimsical dangers of his tales as Alexandria urges him to persist. The two navigate through crises together, culminating in an intense climax where their intertwined fates reach a resolution, showing that even in the throes of defeat and despair, there lies the promise of hope and rebirth.
As the film draws to a close, Alexandria gracefully reflects on her journey home to the orange groves, harboring bittersweet memories of Roy, assuring herself of his wellbeing encapsulated in the world of film. Their connection—magnified by the spectacular visuals of silent movie montages—reminds viewers that the legacies of dreams, stories, and lost loves endure, woven into the fabric of cinema.
