Character Relationship Map: Painless

Characters

• David (played by Àlex Brendemühl) — protagonist

  Modern protagonist who survives a fatal car crash, learns he has lymphoma, and discovers he was adopted. He searches for his biological parents, eventually finding his father Berkano in a hidden caver...

• Berkano (played by Tómas Lemarquis) — supporting

  Originally Benigno, a painless child in a 1931 monastery hospital. He digs a tunnel for four years to reach a neighboring cell. Later renamed Berkano by military forces, he becomes a torturer confined...

• Professor Holzmann (played by Derek de Lint) — supporting

  A doctor in the 1931 monastery hospital who attempts to find a medical cure for the children's inability to feel physical pain. His treatment plans are abandoned when the hospital is besieged and seiz...

• Dr. Carcedo (played by Ramon Fontserè) — supporting

  Holzmann's colleague who opposes medical treatment for the painless children, advocating instead for their confinement in an asylum. He cites Benigno's exceptional intelligence and violent tendencies...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Professor Holzmann → Berkano (Professional Doctor And Patient) — Holzmann's medical efforts are directed toward children including Benigno, but the hospital's seizure prevents his plans from being completed.

  Holzmann conducts procedures at the monastery hospital in an attempt to remedy the children's inability to feel physical pain; Benigno is one of the y...

• Dr. Carcedo → Berkano (Power Advocate Of Confinement) — Carcedo treats Benigno's behavior as support for confining children like him, rather than pursuing Holzmann's proposed medical treatment.

  Carcedo argues that the children should be locked up in his asylum and cites Benigno's intelligence and violent outbursts as evidence for his position...

• David → Berkano (Family Father And Son) — David searches for his biological parents and finds Berkano in the old monastery. Their reunion comes during the fire, when Berkano recognizes their bond and stops attacking him.

  David discovers that Berkano, originally named Benigno, is his biological father. Berkano recognizes David as their son when he sees that they share t...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Professor Holzmann → Dr. Carcedo (Conflict Professional Opponents) — The doctors disagree over whether the painless children should receive medical treatment or be confined. Their opposing approaches reflect the central dispute over the children's future.

  The reference identifies Holzmann as Carcedo's colleague and says Holzmann seeks a remedy for the children, while Carcedo believes they should be conf...

Story Analysis

Two timelines converge as David searches for his biological origins and encounters the unresolved history of the children at the monastery hospital.

Plot Progression

1. Children Without Pain — At the monastery hospital, Holzmann tries to treat children who cannot feel physical pain. Carcedo opposes this approach and argues that they should be confined, using Benigno's behavior to support hi...
2. The Hospital Falls — Benigno digs with a stolen spoon for years in an effort to reach the girl in the neighboring cell. Military forces seize the hospital, and Holzmann's treatment plans are never completed.
3. A Search for Origins — After a car crash, David learns that his wife has died, his baby survived, and he has lymphoma. When he also discovers he was adopted, he searches for his biological parents and is led to the former m...
4. The Cavern Reunion — David follows a tunnel from cell 17 to a candlelit cavern, where he recognizes his preserved mother. Berkano attacks him, then recognizes their shared eyes and realizes David is his son; a fire engulf...