If Suffering Were Simple

In 1962, the American pilot Richard Bainfield arrives at the Rota naval base fleeing from the memories and remorse that torment him: he was the one who gave the order to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. In Rota he meets Samantha Porter, an English woman who works as an interpreter at the base. But Samantha is in fact Spanish, the daughter of republicans, who has returned to Spain from exile, having originally fled the country with her mother. The sole aim of her return is to find out what happened to her father who disappeared when they had to flee. Both Richard and Samantha need to reconcile themselves with their past and will soon find that doing so will be easier together.

If Suffering Were Simple is inspired by the true story of the American commander Claude Eatherly, who flew the weather reconnaissance flight over Hiroshima a few hours before the bombing. If Suffering Were Simple examines the limits of moral responsibility and the complexity of human emotions, with love as a balm capable of healing the deepest wounds of our past.