Set in the 1930s, 'Real' is the story of Colly, the motherless son of a stuntman, whose view of the world is shaped by what he sees in the movies. When his father is injured, he and Colly retreat to the desert to stay in an old adobe cabin. There they meet an Indian named Benjamin who is engaged in a battle to defend his people's land and relics from highway developers. During a walk in the desert, Colly has a mystical experience in which he meets and Indian boy from hundreds of years before, who is trapped in a "Forever Day" and who needs Colly's help to free his spirit. Past and present soon intertwine in ways that force Colly to reevaluate what is real and what is not, and which ultimately force him to let go of his own grief.