Mark was looking for himself, still trying to find his way back from the dead.

Does Mark learn to live the pain of his experience"

Mark ultimately does in fact learn to live his pain. The filtration that his camera is supposed to provide does not do as such, and in effect, causing Mark to experience cruelty, violence and brutality. However, the traumatic experiences are overcome by the insight of Joaquin, who himself learns to come to terms with similar experiences. The narrative suggests that the best part of Mark had ended on the hilltop. Now Mark needs time to reconcile himself to his new life. Mark under the influence of Joaquin faces his experiences by the simple realization that he does not in fact `control the fate of others.' Mark always used the camera to place a distance between `ones self and ones surrounding,'...