Todorov's Narrative Theory

Todorov's narrative theory is thus:

1) Equilibrium
2) Disruption
3) Recognition of the disruption
4) Attempt to restore equilibrium
5) New equilibrium

An example of a film that follows this theory would be Guillermo Del Toro's 2006 film Pan's Labyrinth, i.e.;

1) Equilibrium - Ofelia moves with her pregnant mother to live with the father of the child, in post-civil war Spain.
2) Disruption - One night Ofelia meets Doug Jones (dressed cunningly as a Spanish faun) and he tells her that she is the reincarnation of the lost princess of some far off magical place.
3) Recognition of the disruption - He tells her to complete three tasks to prove she is the princess and rather surprisingly, she believes him.
4) Attempt to restore equilibrium - This is provided by the angry Spanish captain as he hunts down Spanish rebels, stabs and shoots a few people and even smashes a man in the nose with a pistol. Slightly differently to Todorov's theory, is that Ofelia is seeking a new life and thus a new equilibrium instead of the original equilibrium (which the audience have seen none of).
5) New Equilibrium - Ofelia dies. Becomes the princess. Lives in the magical world. Arguably however, this is the same equilibrium as the beginning of the film as Ofelia has been restored to her status of princess (although the countless dead bodies and burning buildings in the human world indicate a new equilibrium for those staying in the non-magical world).

A film that does not follow Todorov's narrative theory would be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, since the film ends without any real plot points being resolved (apart from there countless MacGuffins mentioned and the odd loss of an ear). Another film might be 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film follows the rise of humanity (first seen in an equilibrium state as men in chimp costumes apes) that is accelerated due to the appearance of a strange monolith on Earth (disruption). This equilibrium/disruption is then mirrored several thousand years later as astronauts find another monolith. They then travel to Jupiter and another disruption comes along in the form of a completely mental robot who tries to kill them. The film then goes rather psychedelic, with the lead character travelling across time and space and ending up in a room and nobody is really sure about the rest of it (but it is far from an equilibrium state, since its so open ended, un-resolved and overtly symbolic).