An orphan child goes about the streets of Lahore. He is not of Indian nationality, for his parents were English, and his father was a sergeant in the army. However, young Kim, speaks and thinks as though he was Indian, and this could have continued day after day, had he not encountered a Monk who had come down from the Tibetan mountains in search of a purifying river. Kim, fascinated by the monk’s appearance, wasted no time in setting out after him… yet the past tends to repeat itself, such that during their voyage, they run into an English regiment that, as chance would have it, was the exact same one to which his father had once belonged. Kim has no choice at this point, for once he is recognized as English, he is forced to go to school and join the British Secret Service...
im and the Lama take a train towards Umballa. On board the train Kim meets X21 (the Indian secret agent who is a friend of Red Beard’s) disguised as a food merchant. In order to gather enough money to buy some food, Kim decides to swindle a couple of rich farmers making them believe that the Lama is a Saint capable of performing miracles. But they are sceptical and stingy, so they don’t fall for it. While Kim looks around for other suckers to swindle, the train is blocked in the middle of the countryside by an elephant lying on the railway tracks. Kim persuades the conductor to allow the Lama to solve the problem since he is capable of speaking to animals. The Lama talks to the elephant but he is “misunderstood”. The Lama’s failure unleashes the wrath and the scorn of the travellers who pelt the priest with objects they throw from the train windows. Kim speaks up in defence of his teacher and performs the “miracle” in his place by using his slingshot. ..
An orphan child goes about the streets of Lahore. He is not of Indian nationality, for his parents were English, and his father was a sergeant in the army. However, young Kim, speaks and thinks as though he was Indian, and this could have continued day after day, had he not encountered a Monk who had come down from the Tibetan mountains in search of a purifying river. Kim, fascinated by the monk’s appearance, wasted no time in setting out after him… yet the past tends to repeat itself, such that during their voyage, they run into an English regiment that, as chance would have it, was the exact same one to which his father had once belonged. Kim has no choice at this point, for once he is recognized as English, he is forced to go to school and join the British Secret Service...
When Kim returns to the farm, he discovers that he’s in trouble. The two farmers have set up a rich banquet, but the Lama refuses to touch any food. He is meditating under a tree and refuses to speak to anyone, not even to his own disciple. The farmers are furious and expect to be compensated with a “miracle” worthy of the money they have spent for their guests. Otherwise they promise to give them a sound thrashing and then report them to the police. Kim does his best to calm them down and convince them that he himself, as disciple of the Saint, is capable of performing small miracles. But he must have something to eat beforehand. The two farmers pay no heed to him: first the miracle and then the banquet. They discuss the matter between them and finally find a miracle fit for Kim. He has to heal a cow buffalo that no longer produces any milk...
Once again, Kim and the Lama have taken up their journey towards Benares. Kim has regained his good mood, but the Lama still isn’t speaking to him. Kim understands that there’s only one way to deter the priest from his silence. Kim tells him about the Lion of the Punjab, the heroic commander who leads the Army of the Pure and rules over the land of the Five Rivers – called this way since the five most important rivers in India spring forth from its mountains. Hearing Kim speak about rivers, the Lama’s curiosity is aroused and he asks for information about how to reach that region, where perhaps the River of the Arrow lies. Kim is pleased that the Lama is speaking to him once again and says he’s sorry for the trouble he caused back at the farm. He promises him that he’ll always speak the truth from now on, but admits that he’s also slightly disappointed. What kind of saint is the Lama since he isn’t even capable of performing a miracle? Hindu gurus can sit on nails and they even eat them, Sulima used to prepare healing herbs that treated high fever. Some fakirs are even capable of levitating. You should know how to do something if people are supposed to worship you. How on earth can the Lama not know how to do a thing? The Lama replies that by not reacting one can reach illumination. “But if one doesn’t react, he may well die of hunger!”, is Kim’s objection...
Kim and the Lama reach the rich widow’s village. The woman lives in a grand building. A flock of crows live in a great tree which looms in front of her building. Kim is surprised by the intelligence of the birds that pick the berries from the trees, drop them on the streets to be crushed by passing carts and then eat the contents. The Lama tells him that the Buddhists consider them sacred animals and revere them as foreboders of good luck. When she hears those words, the widow picks up a rock and throws it against the birds. Sacred animals, by George! All those damned animals do is croak all day long and then attract evil spirits into her home. An elderly Brahmin welcomes the guests into the building. He lives with the widow and takes care of her. The man doesn’t seem happy about their arrival, although he treats the Lama and his disciple with servile manners. But this does nothing to hide his irritation and wariness. The Lama questions him about the presence of evil spirits inside the house. The Brahmin wickedly whispers in his ear that it’s only the imagination of the feeble-minded old lady, who is more and more giving signs of mental derangement. Then he changes his expression and rushes over to slavish his attention on his mistress and reminds her that she must take her medicine. After drinking the potion prepared for her by the Brahmin, the widow suddenly feels very tired and is led to her bedroom for a nap. She arouses the Brahmin’s jealousy by asking the Lama and Kim to keep her company. The Lama notices the picture of a young man in her room and asks her whether it’s her son...
Kim and the Lama, followed by the crow, continue with their pilgrimage towards Benares along the Great Trunk Road. In the vicinity of a village, the Lama feels tired and wants to stop and rest in the shadow of a tree. Kim entrusts him to the crow and goes to look for some food and water. As he walks across the countryside, he notices two approaching soldiers on horseback carrying a flag. The two men drive the flag into the middle of a wide clearing. Kim approaches them and discovers that the flag depicts a red bull on a green background. It is the image Sulima had announced with her prophecy. At the sound of trumpets and drums, a regiment of soldiers dressed in red and green uniforms emerges from the woods and marches towards the clearing. The soldiers begin to set up their tents in the camp. Kim decides to explore the camp since he believes he can find the man with the white horse who will change the course of his destiny. He makes his way inside an officer’s tent and snoops around. Inside a drawer he finds a gun holster with a secret compartment...
Kim is travelling towards Lucknow in the Regiment’s retinue. Bennet orders the drummer-boy to give him a uniform and keep an eye on him at all times. Kim is happy to be a part of the army, but he is always subjected to the vexation of the drummer-boy who has a good time humiliating him in front of the troops. Some “racist” soldiers back the drummer-boy and mistreat Kim in turn by making fun of him for his dark skin. Once when the regiment stops and the men are gathered around a campfire for their ration, Kim finds a way to get his revenge by playing the drummer-boy a ferocious trick. Thanks to his trick he wins over some of the soldiers who witnessed his humiliations and approve his rebellion; while arousing the strong reactions of the soldiers who were on the drummer-boy’s side. A soldier as wide as a barn, named Willie, steps in and tries to soothe the high spirits of his companions; after all it’s only a spat between boys, but the “racist” soldiers have decided to punish the little negro and pick some sticks up from the ground. Willie takes sides with Kim and this unleashes a wild brawl. At the end of the struggle, the “racist” soldiers end up with their faces in the manure or with their butts inside the soup pot.
As Bennet joins Creighton in Lucknow and the Lama continues his journey towards Benares with the crow, Kim is locked up in a Military Orphanage – a gloomy fortress enclosed by high walls. Kim is forced to wear a tattered grey uniform which makes him looks like a little prisoner; he bites the hand of the supervisor he’s been entrusted to and tries to escape. The Headmaster blows into his whistle. The guards chase Kim across the courtyard. Kim gives them a hard time, but he is finally captured and put into punishment. Two days of solitary confinement in a dark cell crowded with mice and without any food. On the morning of the third day, the Headmaster’s subordinate (a thin and slow-witted young man with an evil sneer on his face) picks him up and leads him into class. Their teacher is a very strict-looking British military man, the classroom is filthy and full of cockroaches, and there are about ten thin urchin-like pupils who are all infested by lice. Following a lively discussion with the teacher, which causes the newcomer to be well-liked by his companions, Kim gets into his usual mischief but this time using the cockroaches. The whistle sounds out again for the second time and the recidivist is in for punishment once again. Kim is sentenced to hard labor. After having shovelled manure in the stables and carried out other unpleasant tasks under the surveillance of the subordinate, Kim manages to escape...
The Orphanage guards ride on horseback along a dirt road that runs along the countryside. Suddenly the footprints they were following disappear. The squad of soldiers comes to a halt. They look around in disbelief. All they can see are ploughed fields dotted with scarecrows. The soldiers patrol the fields, threading their way between the motionless scarecrows. An insect tickles the nose of a scarecrow whose face is covered by a shapeless straw hat. Drì captures it just in time to avoid a sneeze. The soldiers cannot find a thing and so they decide to go back to where they came from. A great bird lands on the head of one of the scarecrows, which proceeds to brush it off using foul language. It’s Kim. The others begin to move, as well. We can recognize Sita and the other boys. They’ve done it, they’re safe and sound. The group splits up. Kim and Sita walk together down a stretch of the road. Kim tells his friend about the Lama who he wishes to reach along his journey towards Benares. Sita reaches the village where some of his relatives live and then Kim continues on his own. As he crosses the countryside alone at night, he suddenly sees some lights and reaches a small village where a company of traveling actors is performing the Mahābhārata. The crude farmers do not appreciate the show and Kim helps the actors out since they risk being beaten...
While Kim along with the Lama continue on their journey towards Benares and Colonel Creighton along with Bennet lead the Regiment northwards, in Lahore Red Beard receives a message that has been intercepted by Jasmine at Nabob Dinar’s palace. Red Beard takes off with his caravan of horses in order to reach Creighton and deliver the message to him. Along the road to Benares, Kim and the Lama come across a bank of the Ganges River where the British are completing some work for the construction of a bridge that will link Delhi to Calcutta by rail.
Following a brief journey on horseback, during which Creighton speaks to Kim about his friendship with the boy’s father, they reach a great colonial residence in the outskirts of Delhi. The town house’s immense gardens border on the jungle. Elsa is awaiting their arrival. It is a surprise for Kim to discover that the girl he had fought in Umballa is the daughter of the Colonel, but Elsa’s surprise is greater when her father tells her that Kim was the child she spent her early childhood with. The Colonel shows Kim a portrait of his wife with baby Elsa in her arms. He tells Kim about the happy period in which both the women, Elsa’s mother and Kim’s mother, used to take their children out for a walk in the town house gardens. Kim asks the Colonel lots of questions since he wishes to recover every instant of that long-forgotten past. But when Creighton begins to talk about the past, Elsa interrupts him furiously. Her grief over her mother’s death has still not been appeased and remembering the past still causes her pain. From that moment on, Elsa has a hostile and evasive attitude towards Kim. As if his presence in the town house were reawakening memories that she would rather forget. Creighton has to leave and return to his duties while the two youngsters are entrusted to Mr. Barney, Elsa’s guardian.
The only one who doesn’t particularly appreciate the arrival of the new guest in the town house is poor Mr. Barney who, in addition to keeping his eye on the two hot-headed youngsters, now has to also take care of a tiger cub. But the cub, who has been named Mokò, fills the lives of Kim and Elsa. His havoc and mischief are a source of entertainment for everyone. But after time for fun and games comes the time for the serious matters. Creighton summons Kim in his study to speak to him about St. Xavier’s. As he shows the boy some of the books in his bookcase, including the draft of some law codes that he himself is writing, Creighton explains his feelings and his projects for the future of India. He believes that the soundness and the duration of the colonial empire all depend on the capacity of the British to adapt themselves to India and not the contrary. No one will ever manage to convert India to the culture, language, religion or laws of the West. Never will a foreign army or governing class be able to govern such a numerous and multifaceted population. Only if the two cultures manage to meet halfway might peace be restored...
Back at the town house, the relationship between Kim and Julian is not an easy one. Kim’s separation from Elsa and his departure for St. Xavier’s along with Julian. Strong clash between Kim and Julian during the journey towards Lucknow. Using a disguise, Kim gets rid of Julian and decides to join his Lama. During his solitary journey, Kim discovers that there’s a bloodthirsty gang of bandits in the area. One night he comes upon their camp and discovers that they have kidnapped Julian. They are not sure whether they want to kill him or simply ask his uncle for some ransom money. Even Kim is rather hesitant whether to free the hateful brat from strife or let the bandits go ahead and torture him. Moved to pity, he finally decides to help him out. He makes his way inside the gang of bandits, frees Julian but also gratifies himself by stealing from the thieves...
Kim has a hard time fitting into St. Xavier’s. Despite his good will and sociability, the Headmaster dislikes him and so do the white-skinned students who treat him and the other Indian boys as pariahs. The leader of the “racist” white-skinned boys attacks Kim. Julian doesn’t step in to defend him, despite Kim saved him from the bandits. Even to the point that he denies that it ever happened and supports Kim’s enemies in order to be accepted in the group. The white students even show their hostility to the Indian ones, who have become a group with Kim, during class. The Headmaster, who is also the Science teacher, does nothing to stop it. Whereas the young English teacher, who is charmed by Kim’s personality, decides to put an end to the controversy between the two groups (the Indians and the British) through a sports competition. The teacher plans a cricket match, but Kim changes the rules into his own and transforms the game into a football match.
Kim’s progress at St. Xavier’s. He writes his first letter to the Lama and receives a reply. Friendship and collaboration between Kim and Julian. They share a test of their virility. Easter holidays. The two boys return to the town house in Delhi and discover that the garden is in full bloom, but so is Elsa. Kim is amazed and dumbfounded by the sudden change in Elsa. They have a hard time communicating. Kim is befuddled by the emotions that Elsa arouses in him. Elsa feels she is being rejected by Kim for reasons that are beyond her. She has a friendly rapport with Julian. Kim’s jealousy. Some rivalry sets in between Kim and Julian; it breaks out in a clash. The youngsters go for an outing with Mr. Barney to witness a procession. The presence of foreign secret agents who arouse a clash between the Indians and the British.
While he’s at St. Xavier’s, Kim receives a letter from the Lama and this reassures him. He is studying for his finals. News about turmoil bursting out here and there in the country reaches St. Xavier’s. There is fear that another Black Year might occur. Tensions flare up between the British and the Indians inside the college. Creighton meets the other Vice-Governors and the Governor-General in Calcutta in order to discuss what should be done. Creighton manages to have a more peaceful position prevail, without any repression, but intensifying espionage activities in order to discover those who are leading the conspiracy. Bennet hopes to be in charge of the mission, but instead it is entrusted to Red Beard, who in the meantime has become Creighton’s trustworthy collaborator (as Kim’s father used to be). Creighton tells Bennet of his wish to make Kim his future successor. Bennet decides to get rid of both Kim and Red Beard. On the eve of his exams, Kim receives a secret message from Red Beard, which says that Creighton has decided to make him enter the Great Game. Trusting Red Beard and obliged to keep absolute secrecy, Kim escapes from the college and goes to the place indicated by the message.
While everyone wonders where Kim has gone to and why he’s disappeared, in Simla he is trained to become a secret agent by Lurdon. (See film). And the end of the training course, X21 arrives in disguise but Kim recognizes him. The foreign spies have followed X21 and Lurdon, fearing that he might be intercepted, decides to entrust his mission to Kim. Kim is sent off to Calcutta with a message to be delivered to Red Beard. During the train trip, Kim realizes that he’s being followed by secret agents and thanks to a disguise he manages to get off the train unnoticed. Kim takes up his journey on foot towards Calcutta. A chance and entertaining encounter with the crow and therefore with the Lama who is in a bit of trouble. Kim solves the Lama’s problems and they travel the last stretch of the trip together.
The plan is to set up the entire episode in Calcutta while a great religious feast is going on. Thousands of pilgrims crowd the city, there are processions all over, gurus are bathing in the river, crowds all around. Kim and Red Beard make their way through this setting. The enemy spies mingle with the crowd, follow them and try to get rid of them. The two of them have to meet with X21 in a very crowded spot, wearing something to recognize them which they discover is common to all the pilgrims who are crowding the square. They do not find X21 but discover that the enemy spies are setting up an ambush against an important religious figure in a temple or in a crowded square, then they are prepared to put the blame on the British. Kim and Red Beard thwart the plot at the last minute. Then they go looking for X21 in his home and discover that he has been killed. Red Beard is desperate for the death of his friend. He was the best of the lot. He must have discovered something very important. Before dying he managed to conceal a message for Red Beard, which Kim finds. It is written in code.
In Delhi our heroes join Elsa who tells them that her father has gone to the inauguration of the railway bridge on the Ganges River along with the Governor-General. It dawns on Red Beard that the conspirators want to blow up the bridge. They rush to warn Creighton, but get there too late. The bridge blows up as a train carrying British soldiers, the Governor-General and Creighton passes over it. Kim and Red Beard manage to save the Governor and Creighton. Creighton is brought to the hospital in serious condition. Bennet grasps the opportunity to take over the military command. He blames the bombing on the Indians who built the bridge. Uprising of the sepoys. Revolution bursts out. Elsa with her father. Bennet and the Governor-General accuse Red Beard of being the traitor. Kim helps Red Beard in his flight. Bennet accuses him of being his accomplice. Kim is in danger. Elsa and Julian offer their help to keep Kim and the Lama in hiding at the town house in Delhi.
The British attack the Indian villages. The Indians set fire to the East India Company offices. Textile factory machinery thrown into the sea. Clashes and retaliation between the dominators and the dominated – with innocent blood bearing the brunt of it. Amidst the chaos our heroes reach the town house in Delhi, but racial hatred bursts out here as well. Bennet incites the inhabitants of the nearby village to attack Creighton’s town house and set fire to it. Kim experiences once again the nightmare of his past. He saves Elsa’s life when she goes back inside the house to save the tiger cub. Refugees flee along the Grand Trunk Road. Our heroes are collected by Father Victor and he offers his protection to Elsa and Mr. Barney in the mission. The presence of Kim, an Indian, in the mission puts the lives of others in danger. Kim leaves Elsa and goes away with the Lama. Kim sees a woman fleeing with a child and experiences his past when his mother was fleeing along with him... A dangerous situation is solved this time by the Lama who leads Kim to safety in a Buddhist monastery.
The Buddhist Monastery is a haven of peace while clashes continue and grow harsher outside. The Lama regains his concentration and the ability to meditate along with his brethren, while Kim is in a state of crisis. He feels that he has failed his mission and condemns the Buddhist priests for their indifference towards what is going on outside. The arrival of the British led by Bennet, who mistreat and offend the monks but do not get any reaction from them. The British besiege the nearby village where only defenseless women and children live. Kim urges the monks to react. The monks, led by Kim, proceed to free the women and children and lead them to the safety of the monastery. When the soldiers burst upon the village, they find it deserted and suspect the interference of the monks. The monastery is searched: the women, children, Kim and the Lama are in hiding. A kind British soldier discovers the children and the women in hiding but does not give them away. Bennet’s plans are once again thwarted by Kim. The British depart. The monastery becomes a place of hospitality. Among the refugees Kim meets Jasmine and discovers that Red Beard has been captured by the British and sentenced to death. He is locked up in a fortress and his execution is close at hand. Kim leaves the monastery and sets off to free Red Beard with Jasmine.
Kim and Jasmine make their way inside the fortress where Red Beard is locked up and try to make him escape, but they fail. Kim frees Red Beard at the moment of his execution. Red Beard’s escape towards the Lion of the Punjab in the Land of the Five Rivers. Kim returns to the monastery. Elsa is there awaiting him. Kim discovers that Creighton wants to attack the Lion of the Punjab since he thinks he is responsible and the leader of the uprising. Clash between Kim and the Lama. Kim leaves the monastery and wishes to reach Red Beard to tell him about the imminent attack on behalf of the British. The Lama is grieved over his separation from Kim. Kim and Elsa travel together. Adventures. British barrage. Elsa allows Kim to go beyond the British barrage. Then Kim continues on his own. Kim faces some difficulties and becomes ill. His meeting with the sahiba who accommodates him. Kim experiences visions and memories as he is delirious with fever. The sahiba treats him with her magical herbs and when Kim shows her his amulet containing the yellow flower she tells him that many years before she met a man whose eyes were the same color as Kim’s and who had shown her a similar flower. The man was very sick and tired, just like Kim, because of his long journey across India in search of his wife and child. He was resigned to never finding them again and told her that he was headed towards the Land of the Five Rivers, where he had met his wife and where he wished to be buried. Encouraged by the sahiba’s words and after having spent the night hugging the earth, Kim once again sets off on his journey along with Drì. In the meanwhile the Lama discovers that the yellow flower grows in the Land of the Five Rivers and goes looking for Kim. He meets the Russians who are headed towards the Kaiber Pass and joins them.
Kim heads off towards the mountains. He is captured by the King of Punjab’s men and led to the secret fortress of the Blind Lion, called this way because of the patch he wears over one of his eyes. Kim is believed to be a British secret agent. Kim proclaims his being Indian and a friend of Red Beard. He warns him that the British Army is about to attack Punjab. But the Lion does not trust him. Kim wins over the Lion’s trust when he foils a plot to poison him or kill him in some other way. The plot is planned by one of his men who is really an undercover spy. During some reconnaissance in the mountains there’s a clash with a squad of British scouts. The Lion has the proof that England has dared to challenge him. This means war! Military action carried out by the Army of the Pure, who strike British advance-guards and demolish ammunition depots using a gallery system and their acquaintance with mountains very similar to the Afghan ones. During one of these actions, Kim meets his friend soldier Willie from the Regiment who is wounded in a clash. Kim hides him and takes care of him. Before dying, Willie hands him a coded message that he took from Bennet’s tent. He is certain that Bennet is the double-crossing spy. The clash with the Lion of the Punjab is only a trap. The real objective of Bennet’s accomplices is something else. Willie’s death makes Kim realize that he doesn’t want any more war, that the British and the Indian are both his friends. He takes up his journey towards the mountains to go and look for Red Beard. Along with him he discovers Bennet’s plot.
As he’s looking for Red Beard, Kim intercepts the camp belonging to the Russian scouts on the mountains. To his great surprise, he finds his Lama there. The Lama informs him what he has discovered about the yellow flower. The arrival of the Russians. Kim wins them over since he is an excellent cook. They do not suspect a thing and take him in with them. Along with the scouts, Kim and the Lama climb up towards the Kaiber Pass. They meet with a false shepherd, like in the movie, who is none other than Red Beard himself without his beard. Red Beard follows the Russians up to the camp at the top of the Pass. The arrival of one of the conspirators with armed retinue (and umbrella). They suspect Kim and hypnotize him. Kim withstands it. But then Nabob Dinar also arrives and he is unmasked. Kim refuses to speak. They tie him to a cable that hangs over a ravine. Red Beard intervenes, like in the movie. Kim and Red Beard get rid of the Nabob and of his henchmen with an avalanche of rocks. The Russian maps unveil the real enemy objective: to direct the British Army towards Punjab in order to facilitate the invasion of Tsar Alexander’s men from the Kaiber Pass. Creighton must be warned immediately. The Lama is wounded and cannot move. Kim half-heartedly entrusts him to the crow and rides away on horseback with Red Beard.
As Red Beard and Kim ride towards the Land of the Five Rivers across the mountains, the regiment led by Creighton and Bennet prepares to attack the Lion of the Punjab. The men dressed in black try to stop Kim and Red Beard on the mountains. Our heroes overcome their barrage. Spectacular actions by Kim and Red Beard as they block the two opposing formations just before the clash. Bennet flees on the mountains, followed by Kim and Red Beard. The traitor tries to send a smoke signal to his accomplices in order to warn them that the Regiment is headed for the Kaiber Pass. Kim and Red Beard capture Bennet and send a message that causes the enemy troops to end up in the hands of the British. Kim climbs up to the Pass in order to look for the Lama, but he cannot find him. The Lama’s voice calls out to him, saying that he has found the tree bearing the yellow flowers. Finale with the river coming into view.