Hasta la Vista - Pflücke das Leben!

Also known as "Come As You Are", a beautiful film from Belgium starring Tom Audenaert, Robrecht Vanden Thoren and Gilles De Schrijver as three disabled friends who want to go to Spain, to lose their virginity, the story is based upon a real-life experience. They get help by nurse Claude, played by Isabelle de Hertogh, who drives them through Belgium, France and Spain, in her own way.

"Hasta la Vista" is beautifully shot and realistically written - funny and sad - in the end a fantastic movie about 3 friends who learn the beauty and the horror of life. Philippe is paraplegic and hilarious, Lars sits in a wheelchair because he has cancer, and Jozef is almost blind. The actors are nothing but great, and very likable. They meet Claude who becomes the 4th friend and all together they enter a wonderful journey in which everybody learns something about themselves - but not in a cliché way! The movie is different and original, we can relate to everyone, which shows how well its done, because we're not necessary disabled like them. The end is moving and one of the strong points of the film. Absolutely recommended!

While Dutch/Belgian movies often try to replicate the big budget action (or suspense) from US cinema, they would be much better off trying to master the art of creating something charming and heartfelt within the budget range that is there. Like this film! No fancy effects or smoky rooms with people staring in the distance contemplating the state of the world, but actual people with actual needs and a little challenge at that.

Because what do you do when you're a young horny bloke, and paralysed? Or blind? Or dying? It's simple questions like this that probably arise a lot more in regular life than we (I) might think. Luckily, the Spanish have a solution: a bordello for just that sort of need. On with the road trip!

This film (English title "Come as you are") is a low key gem, a Flemish mini-treasure, that will linger in your memory for quite some time.

The BBC-2 TV channel in the UK screened it in early December 2015 , with subtitles in English (much of the dialogue is in Flemish and French), and some of my neighbors mentioned it to me, saying that word-of-mouth was positive about the film.

It's a charming, engaging, bittersweet road-trip. Hard to find fault with it in any serious way. I suspect this film will last the test of time.

So I hope the investors got a handsome return from this worthy effort.

It was like the British movie 'Third Star' where they go in search of peace but in this movie it is totally opposite. It centers around three friends Joseph, Phillip and Lars who are in the twenties. Joseph is a visually impaired, Phillip is paralyzed and Lars got a tumour. They are all common in something, like, they are still virgins. They are looking for their first sexual experience, so they plan all the way to tour Spain where the destiny for their desire is waiting for them. But what stand against them are their parents and of course the disease. How they overcome everything and reach their goal is what the rest of the movie gonna tell to us.

If you read the synopsis of the movie you come to know that the concept was not the first time you have heard. It is the common theme in Americans teen movies like 'Sex Drive' and 'The Inbetweeners'. But the thing was the main three characters were disabled and that makes the movie special. Because of the softness of the characters, the audience will easily approve the intense of storyline and saying 'let them have what they want'. Yeah, that makes I too want to be like one of them then I can be approved to have anything I want, hahaha.

I think the movie was good. It was a fun adventure simultaneously light emotional tale. All these three guys wanted was to have the fun like the normal people, before it become too late for them. There was also a fat woman in the story, called Claude and she was the van driver who takes them to the tour. Her role was obvious and supported well to the main characters. She was kinda reminded me Melissa McCarthy.

It was one of the best road movie. I thought I could see some beautiful places of Europe but the director had the different ideas. He exposed lots of character emotions than the places around them but still the beauty of Europe vastly visible. The tale leaves nothing for us to guess the end, as expected it ends in a usual style. So if you thought it would be a tearjerker's movie, it is not. The movie had many lines about adult stuffs, that makes it suitable for them only. It is one of the heartwarming comedy about disabled people and their desires like many movies we had seen.

8.5/10

I went to watch this film last night with a bunch of teammates after a horrific practice. And this was just what we needed!

'Hasta la Vista' has its moments where your eyes tear up with joy and laughter as well as wanting to cry your heart out just moments later. The chemistry between the trio (or perhaps I should say foursome) of actors comes across as very real and the story is truly wonderful. At times, it wanders off onto the path of predictability, but then again, which film tries to completely steer clear of this (succesful) route?

In conclusion, this is a very nice flick. The humour, the sadness, the like-ability of the actors along with the great acting all cumulates into a very enjoyable film where it's hard not to root for them to reach their goal.

And for those interested, our night ended with some of us dancing on tables in one of the better bars in Antwerp, and I like to think it was 'Hasta la Vista' that set the mood perfectly.