"Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed" (2013 release from Spain) brings the story of Antonio, a thirty-something English teacher. The time is 1066 and the place is Spain. Antonio is Beatles-obsessed, and as the movie opens we see him using the lyrics of "Help" to teach his class. When Antonio finds out that John Lennon is in southern Spain (to film "How I Won the War"), Antonio decides to drive down, determined to meet Lennon. Along the way, Antonio picks up two teenage runaways: first there is Belén, whom we later learn escaped from a nuns' caretaker place to go back to her mom in Malaga. A bit later there is Juango, a 16 yr. old who tired of his father's dictatorial antics. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see it for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from well-known Spanish writer-director David Trueba (he also brought us "Madrid, 1987"). Here, Trueba mixes facts (Lennon was indeed in Almeria, Spain then, and he did write the basis for "Strawberry Fields Forever" at that time) and fiction (the three main characters) to bring us a wonderful little film about the hopes and dreams of these three people who come to depend on each other more than they realize, and along the way find a renewed lease on life. The movie does a great job of establishing the insecurities and flaws of the main characters, without ever going overboard or falling into sentimentalism.Natalia de Molina (remarkably similar in appearance to Dakota Johnson) is sensational as Belén You'll enjoy the movie even more if you are a Beatles fan (is there anyone who doesn't like the Beatles?). At one point, Antonio laments the fact that the Beatles albums do not contain the lyrics to the songs. "John, give us a break!", he sighs, ha! Also, I don't know this for a fact, but I believe that the demo version that we hear in the movie of "Strawberry Fields Forever" is the same one that we hear (partially) on the Beatles Anthology 2 compilation0.I recently stumbled upon this movie while browsing the foreign film section at my local library. So glad that I picked this up! As the movie approached its conclusion, I so wished that it could've played just a little longer, as I was not ready to say goodbye to these three endearing characters. If you are in the mood for a top notch foreign movie, you cannot go wrong with this. "Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

After fifty years, it is still difficult to assess the full effect the Beatles have had on our culture. Even with the emergence of truth-tellers such as Bob Dylan in the early 60s, the full flowering of independent thinkers and irreverent behavior was not fully realized until the Beatles arrived to help make it a permanent transformation. While the impact of the Beatles was greatest in the U.S. and Britain, the sense of being a part of a new community was felt even in totalitarian regimes where the hippie look and the Beatle-style longhair among teens became a reason for a resurgence of hope even when accompanied by establishment panic.The subject is explored with confidence in writer/director David Trueba's (Soldiers of Salamina) Living is Easy with Eyes Closed, winner of six Goya Awards, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars. Inspired by a real incident, the title of the comedy/drama mirrors the first line of the Beatles song Strawberry Fields Forever whose lyrics signal attention to the growing use of psychedelics. Set in Spain in 1966 during the last years of the oppressive Franco regime, Antonio, played by veteran actor Javier Cámera (I'm So Excited), is a single and somewhat lonely English teacher who is a devoted Beatles fan and uses their lyrics as a teaching tool.When he hears that the famous Beatle John Lennon is filming Richard Lester's How I Won the War in the south of Spain, he decides to take some time off and drive down to Almeria with the hopes of meeting John and asking him to include his song lyrics in future albums. Along the way, Antonio picks up two young hitchhikers, both on the run from unpleasant situations at home, Belén (Natalia de Molina) a three-month pregnant 20-year-old leaving the nunnery where she was sent by her mother, and Juanjo (Francesc Colomer, Barcelona Summer Night), a 16-year-old boy (oddly a Rolling Stones fan) who has run away from his abusive father after an argument over his Beatles-style haircut.Although there is some initial uneasiness, Antonio's friendly, talkative nature allows them to relax and feel comfortable. Once in Almeria, the trio bond in a local farmhouse and the more experienced Belén has much to teach her new young friend. Though the film abounds with warmth and humor, especially when Antonio attempts to fulfill his dream of meeting John, there are some dark moments as well. A local bully, who may or may not be a stand-in for the Franco regime, messes up Juanjo's thick mop of hair and worse but the bully's strawberry fields will not last forever.Beautifully photographed by Daniel Vilar (The Artist and the Model) and buoyed by authentic performances from the entire cast, Living is Easy with Eyes Closed touches deep human emotions. Though the coming of age theme is fairly common in world cinema, rarely has it been done with such tenderness and intelligence, and its message of standing up to fear even though you may look foolish in the process is an important one. When Antonio tells his young friends that, "you can't live in fear. Too many people in Spain live in fear," it's a comment with multiple undertones. Living may be easier with your eyes closed, but it is much more satisfying when they are open.

Predictable feel-good movie based on the true story of a school teacher in Spain in the 60's. It's a story of hope, perseverance, and coming-of-age, told through the road-trip of three sweet strangers. Nothing strictly wrong with that, although sometimes the predictability is just too much, and the feel-good vive gets way too cheesy. The story in which the film is based is actually an amazing one, and the movie could have benefited from that raw material in a better way. Instead, it is full of clichés and flat characters. Spain is depicted as if on a tourist guide from the days of Franco: Beautiful landscapes, naive peasants, pretty girls, and a closed, narrow-minded society. Parents are severe, children are rebellious, and... strawberries are eaten in Almería. The actors do a decent job, but the direction is almost embarrassing at certain points. Seriously, the girl who sings as she has sex?! The handicapped boy with whom everybody gets on really well just because? The tough guy who is plainly mean without a reason?? The whole thing could have felt more real, more natural, if only the characters and scenes were treated with a bit more depth. I learned that this movie has been selected to represent Spain at the Oscar's. OMG. But OK, considering the films that have been awarded in the past, anything can happen, I guess. And yet, where are the days when Spanish cinema would leave you breathless? What happened to the young Garci, the solid Medem, the brilliant Berlanga, the elegant Saura, the fresh Almodóvar, the audacious Amenábar? Ay!

This charming, quirky film written and directed by David Trueba seems tailor-made for Javier Cámara who delivers a tender performance. (Viewers will remember Cámara's role as Simon in the wonderful film The Silent Life of Words.) Here Cámara plays Antonio, a high school English and Latin teacher, on a quest to meet John Lennon. Lennon is briefly in Almeria (south-eastern Spain; preferred location for Spaghetti Westerns). The movie title, Living is Easy With Eyes Closed is a line from Strawberry Fields Forever which Lennon wrote while in Almeria. En route to the coast, the optimistic and playful Antonio first picks up Belen and later Juan Jo, both runaways. At the final destination, the trio soon meet Ramon, a bar owner, and his disabled son Bruno. The story's themes, among others, are kindness, friendship, determination, dignity, bullying and revenge. To me the movie title is ironic since Antonio doesn't go through life with his eyes closed; he sees and understands everything. There are gaps in the film: after a theater scene why is Belen driving while Antonio appears drunk? Yet, the brutal face slapping and ear pulling are true of these times under Franco's regime. Watch this film, it's worth it.