"I too work with intensity. Time is precious. I work non stop now" - Enrique, the painter.
Erice reflects on the vanity of much of human endeavor, especially that of the artistic nature. In this film, the masons and the artist begin their work around the same time. While the masons will finish their task and leave, the artist's painting never gets finished. Somehow this film reminds me of an oft quoted philosophy from the Bhagvad Geeta: "To work is in our hands, attaining the fruits of labor is not". That's pretty much what most characters in this film do, continue to work as they race against their own mortality. Even so, there will always be another spring and new fruits for humanity to attain.
