Parents' Guide to Life Feels Good

In LIFE FEELS GOOD, Mateusz (David Ogrodnik) is a young man born with cerebral palsy in Poland in the 1980s. He cannot walk, needs help with eating, dressing, and cleaning himself, and is unable to communicate his thoughts and feelings. While his loving mother and playful father do all they can for him, Mateusz, through voice-over narration, is a perceptive and sensitive person unable to express the depth of his humanity to those around him. He is befriended by Anka, a neighbor in the building across the courtyard from the window he looks out of from his apartment, a girl his age who becomes his first "girlfriend" and perhaps real friend. She takes him on adventures around the city, but must leave due to her abusive father. When Mateusz's father passes away and his mother becomes too old to take care of him, Mateusz is sent to an institution. He hates living there initially, and even tries to commit suicide by falling out of his chair and falling down a flight of stairs. He experiences another deep connection, this time with an intern named Magda, who spends hours engaging with him, but her personal problems cause her to abruptly quit. But when an innovative instructor comes to the institution with a new way to teach communication to Mateusz, Mateusz eagerly learns and begins to find a way to communicate with his family and those around him.