What happens in Donnie Darko?
the film is about a breach in the fabric of time. What you have seen is where Donnie Darko has been saved by Frank the Rabbit. It is both a premonition of what has happened and what must be done to correct the breach in the fabric of time. He has been saved by Frank the Rabbit in order to complete a series of tasks that will repair the breach in the fabric in time. He must do this before a prescribed date and in doing so will actually die when the jet engine crashes into his room the second time. Time has been altered back to its proper place. Which is why his girlfriend in the movie has no idea who he is when he dies.
