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SYNOPSIS
(EXTENDED VERSION)

Part 1
Breathe In

Central protagonist: Pablo, Andrew

In April, 2004, a 29 y.o. Russian doctor Andrey (Andrew) Gordovsky arrives in Barcelona with his wife Nathalie for five days, in order to attend a pan-European medical conference. On the first day of their stay, Andrew, being a lifelong fan of the sea, suggests they go out to the beach near their hotel in the morning, and so they do.

On the beach, they bump into a young Spanish jogger who collapses onto the sand, clutching his chest in what Andrew recognizes as a heart attack. The guy has a strong, athletic physique, and his jogging suit is soaking wet. He speaks English and, although somewhat disoriented in the beginning, tells Andrew that he's been working out for too long. His name is Pablo, and his heart rate measured by Andrew turns out to be extremely high. Gradually catching his breath, he explains to the doctor that he's lost the track of time, trying to use physical exercise to numb the pain over the recent break-up with a girlfriend. Scared by the Spaniard's alarming heart rate, Andrew suggests they call the ambulance; but Pablo dismisses the need for help, and after a few minutes his condition noticeably improves. His chest pain disappears, and his heart rate goes back to normal. He decides he'll walk back home instead of taking a cab, as Andrew reasonably recommends. Then Andrew gives him his own sports watch with an embedded heart rate monitor, and instructs Pablo to control his heart rate regularly on the way. Thanking him, Pablo learns that he's a first-time visitor to Barcelona and writes down his number, in order to meet for a dinner later that day. He's going to give the watch back to Andrew and show them around the city.

Andrew feels a strange emotional turmoil after this encounter, but he cannot immediately understand why. Spending the entire day at the conference venue, in the evening he meets Pablo for a dinner at one of the city's most popular touristic sites. His wife doesn't come to the dinner, choosing instead to take advantage of shopping opportunities, so two men share the meal face-to-face.

That's where their special connection starts to emerge. Although they communicate in English, which is a foreign language to both, they instantly experience rapport and empathy, around the funny and the sad likewise. Andrew acknowledges that he's blown away by the city, its cosmopolitan culture, breathtaking architecture, and scenic natural landscapes. He's craving to discover as much of it as possible during their numbered days there, even though his wife doesn't seem to share his delight. In response, Pablo shares that he's also been in love with the city since his family moved in, when he was a child. As it turns out, Pablo is a professional soccer player, contracted to one of the country's major clubs and making extraordinary success despite his young age. However, he doesn't behave in a grandiose, complacent, or entitled way. To the contrary, Pablo shows up down-to-earth, wholehearted, and straightforward in his way of communication. At the same time, as he tells the story of his athletic path, Andrew realizes that he has a hard-working, disciplined and tenacious character on top of talent. His personality appeals to Andrew, and it reinforces the feeling of special connection he'd experienced with Pablo instantly but had so far dismissed. In a way, Pablo's story and personality reflects who Andrew himself used to be in his early twenties, before his existential experience in Russia made him feel chronically burnt-out and disempowered. Unlike Pablo, he doesn't have a lot of inspiring stuff to share about his life, but at the same time, mentioning the reasons why his wife hasn't come to the dinner, he reveals the lack of emotional connection he experiences in his marriage, and Pablo responds understandingly. His recent relationship, apparently dysfunctional, was also a mess. Despite practicing vulnerability and dropping masks to a considerable extent, neither of two men are ready to reckon about the main underlying reason their relationships didn't work — because both still live in denial of it.

After finishing the meal, they head to a huge nearby park and lose the track of time in a fluent conversation. They realize that despite being born in different countries and having their lives shaped by different experiences, they share many core beliefs and existential ideas. A phone call from Andrew's wife interrupts their dialogue. Nathalie got lost in the city, with no knowledge of Spanish or English and a handful of shopping bags weighing her down. She describes her surroundings, and with Pablo's help, Andrew finds out her location. Both then go to help her out. Pablo walks the couple to the hotel, and invites them for a private visit to his club's stadium, being one of the city's landmarks, where a special coaching session takes place the next day.

Pablo spends every other evening with them until they leave. Andrew's wife speaks almost no English, so as they ramble around the city, she happily takes shots at shopping while the two men can't get enough of talking. Andrew can't help his awe about the architecture of the historical neighborhoods, soaking in Pablo's accounts about the buildings. Pablo's also carried away and doesn't take a moment to reckon about what is feeling so special in their communication with Andrew. On his part, Andrew ignores the physical attraction he becomes aware of, reminding him of the confusion he'd once felt in adolescence but had never experienced since, because he hadn't met men as attractive as Pablo in Russia. For now, he opts for the idea that he'd always wanted to have a best friend like Pablo — wholehearted, passionate, and straightforward. When Andrew and his wife leave, they exchange email addresses and arrange to stay in touch. Pablo hands back Andrew's watch with the heart rate monitor, but Andrew wants him to keep it as a gift. Aside from his strong affection towards the newly found Spanish friend, he also believes that leaving a personal item somewhere will later attract him back to this place. Crazy as it feels, Andrew cannot help the feeling of true belonging in Barcelona, though he doesn't get self-aware enough to see how it's related to his overwhelming feeling of connection with Pablo. As his plane takes off, Andrew looks over the city and thinks, "I'm not saying 'goodbye' to you, Barcelona. I'm saying, 'see you later'."


Next: Part 2

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