- American Walter Elbertson (Timothy Bottoms), in his late teens, is feeling lost within his family of overachievers. Thirtysomething Englishwoman Lila Fisher (Dame Maggie Smith) is emotionally repressed. The two meet on their respective vacations in Spain when, on the spur of the moment, Walter decides to ditch his overly-regimented cycling-tour group and join the bus tour-group of which Lila is a member. They hardly speak to each other during the first few days, and when they do, they make each other nervous, since each is scared of life. Despite their fears of life, or largely because of it, they enter into a friendship that blossoms into a romance, however rocky the road to that romance is. Out of circumstance, they abandon the bus tour and travel together through Spain on their own, together. Their relationship is put to the test of outside scrutiny when they meet and have an extended stay with a Spanish Duke (Don Jaime de Mora y Aragón).—Huggo
- After falling asleep during his college board exams and consequently flunking them, eighteen-year-old Walter Elbertson (Timothy Bottoms) is sent by his father on a bicycling tour of Spain for the summer. Although promising the enthusiastic tour guide, Carl (Lloyd Brimhall), to speak only Spanish and improve his lackluster group participation, at a rest stop Walter abandons the group to join a bus tour. Taking the only available seat on the bus, Walter sits next to Lila Fisher (Maggie Smith), an English woman in her thirties, who struggles to ignore Walter clumsily spilling water on himself.
At the tour's stop for the evening, Lila sits quietly in the square until a Spanish man flirts with her by imitating various bird calls. Annoyed, Lila goes to the hotel and telephones her home in Bournemouth, where she lives with her two maiden aunts who run a boarding house. Assuring her aunt that she is well, Lila abruptly hangs up, despondent.
Later, Walter sits in the hotel courtyard wrapped in a sheet waiting for his clothes to dry and sees Lila reading quietly in her room. Answering a loud banging on her door, Lila is startled when the man from the square bursts in, bearing a canary. While Walter watches in amusement, the man warbles and whistles and flamboyantly declares his desire for Lila who, recovering, shows him and his bird the door.
The next day the tour resumes, but at a rest stop, Lila accidentally locks herself in an outhouse. As the bus drives away, Lila struggles to find the Spanish phrase for "help" in her guide book. Realizing that Lila is not on board, Walter informs the driver and the bus returns to the stop, where Walter rescues Lila. Back on the bus a grateful Lila awkwardly starts a conversation with Walter and, discovering that he does not speak any Spanish, proceeds to instruct him using her phrase book.
When the bus stops at an ancient church, Walter bluntly tells Lila that he is not interested in learning Spanish, then hastily apologizes for his abruptness. Startled when Walter observes that she seems "uptight" and depressed, Lila in turn points out that the young man has his own odd mannerisms, one of which is running away from anything troublesome.
At the hotel that night, after Walter hears banging from Lila's room next door, he goes to check on her. Looking out her door to assure him that she is fine, Lila finds the young man wrapped in a blanket and is surprised to find him attractive. The tour proceeds to a medieval castle the following morning and Walter and Lila relax and share the day together. After she reveals details of her life in England, Walter relates that he is an asthmatic misfit in a family of achievers: his father is a Pulitzer Prize-winning professor and his sister hand-crafts cellos. Agreeing that they enjoy each other's company, Walter and Lila go to dinner that night at a restaurant that features flamenco dancing and drunkenly participate in the boisterous activity.
Returning to the hotel later, Walter escorts Lila to her room where they giggle over their pleasant evening. Without warning, Walter lunges at Lila to kiss her, and, shoving her on the bed, disregards her angry resistance. Stunning Walter with a sharp blow to his head, Lila escapes and, embarrassed and frustrated, Walter goes to his room. After some moments, unable to restrain himself, Walter bashes his fist into the wall which breaks through into Lila's room. Peering through the hole and seeing Walter's bleeding hand, Lila goes to tend to him. While Lila bandages his scraped knuckles, Walter cries and declares that he that finds her beautiful. Moved, Lila tells him that a relationship between the two of them would be inappropriate, but allows Walter to kiss her and responds for some moments before leaving.
In the morning, Lila goes to the front desk to request an all-day tour, when she is stricken by a wave of dizziness and is unable to speak clearly. Lila struggles to her room where she remains recovering throughout the day while Walter and the group take an afternoon tour. Later, Lila takes several pills and a full bottle of liquor from her bag and spends the evening drinking. Miserable on the bus after the tour, Walter returns and goes to Lila's room where he finds her sporting a black eye, drunk and smoking a cigar. Undaunted, Walter launches into a well-rehearsed apology for his crude behavior the night before, but Lila passes out. Carrying her to the bed, Walter notices that Lila has written "adios" on the mirror in lipstick and sits with her all night. When Lila awakens, Walter restates his apology then assures her that everyone has highs and lows but that it is important to find happiness in the moment.
Later, when Walter brings Lila a potted plant, she tells him that her behavior the night before had nothing to do with him and the couple makes love. The following day, Lila is startled to discover the tour has left, then further unsettled when Walter reveals that he has rented a small car and caravan for them to continue on a private tour together. Lila's doubts are further heightened when, on their first night, a thunderstorm soaks the leaky caravan and the pair spend a querulous, uncomfortable night. Once the storm clears, however, Walter and Lila spend a pleasant day at a town market and a romantic evening under the night stars.
Resting at a bucolic spot the following day, Lila abruptly falls down a small hill and, to Walter's amazement, a man on horseback gallops up and offers to take the stunned Lila to his home nearby. Following in the car, Walter is surprised when he is led to an elegant ancient castle and learns the man is a duke. Uneasy with the duke's overly solicitous treatment of the improved Lila, Walter refuses to dine with the couple the next night and stays at the caravan. After the duke's flowery attempt to seduce her, Lila states that she has a fatal illness and he sends her away.
At the caravan, a downhearted Walter suggests they consider ending the tour and going to their respective homes. The next day, Walter stops the car and steps out onto the plain where he stands shouting. Confessing that his fear that Lila would forsake him for the duke made him realize the depth of his feelings, Walter declares his love for Lila. Lila quietly reveals that she is indeed going to die soon, but Walter reiterates his love and, claiming that since they now know about love and pain, they should remain together and marry. Although Lila does not give Walter an answer, the couple goes on, spending several quiet, happy days together, including camping with a group of gypsies. Despite her happiness, Lila concludes they should part while they are still happy.
Back home, Walter is immediately disenchanted by his family's superficial manner. When a family friend blithely asks Walter what he liked about Spain, he replies "The women!" and deciding to act on his feelings, departs. Reuniting in Spain, Walter and Lila marry as the gypsies look on approvingly.
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What is the English language plot outline for Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973)?
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