Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados

"Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed" is a beautiful movie. The acting and direction are charming and fresh. I particularly loved the film and felt connected to it, even though I am not the greatest Beatles fan.

The story is of an English teacher, obsessed with The Beatles, particularly with John Lennon. He is planning to meet John Lennon in person and ask him a bunch of questions, or maybe simply talk to him. Don't all of us dream of doing the same with our favorite celebrity? On his way, while driving his cute 60s car, he picks up two young hitchhikers.

The story has a slow pace, focusing on characters rather than action. The pace allows us to get acquainted with the characters, know their stories and their purposes. The pace might be too slow for some people, I am pretty sure my boyfriend doze off for some minutes while watching.

As for me, I loved the way the characters were developed, while the actors portrayed them beautifully. I loved the relationship between Antonio, a middle-aged guy, and the two young hitchhikers, one of whom is only sixteen: while he occasionally gives them some lessons about life ("no matter what you do, you cannot live in fear!"), he treats them as adults and respects their decisions ("you must have been an adult when you got into this situation, I'm sure you'll solve it as an adult").

A gorgeous little gem to watch, it has a heart-warming feeling and some characters that are as human as they can get.

The factual story of Juan Carrion has never been spread before and should be known by everyone interested in The Beatles and involved in Education from now on thanks to this great movie. It shows an actual character, a Spanish teacher of English who begun to teach English through Beatles songs as soon as the Fabs became famous and when he found out John Lennon was acting in Almeria location he aimed to meet him to thank him for his involuntary played role as a teacher -ironic, being John so reluctant of teachers-. The plot is not focused only on this teacher but on two youngsters who have left their homes for different reasons. It is a good feelings road movie to Almeria, where by that year of 1966 had turned into the European Hollywood. Since Lawrence of Arabia was shot over there, Clint Eastwood,Anthonny Quinn, Brigite Bardot and so many other stars had passed by the same sunny place than John Lennon. It was not because of his likening of The Beatles, nor liberty nor politics who drove Juan to meet John but his deep respect for his pupils. He wanted to have the lyrics first to provide their pupils with them as soon as possible. For millions of non-English native speakers Beatles fans around the world Beatles songs used to mean more sounds than words and messages. Unfortunately, for those whose mother tongue is English have been very difficult to understand that English have to be learned hardly day by day. When Seargent Pepper's album came out with its lyrics printed, that decision was taken as a normal one. But no one -not even the cleverest Beatles researchers- until nowadays had a reason why The Beatles decided to do so. The reason remained in Almeria, Spain, between John and this man called Juan Carrion. I sincerely hope 'Living is easy' gets to your countries soon so that you can enjoy of this beautiful movie and the story behind.

This is a quiet gentle movie full of humor and understanding about the sometimes painful but rewarding journey to adult hood.

Of huge assistance to those young folk making this journey is a really talented teacher; don't just take my word for it - learn from the movie what Lennon did to assist the teacher in his quest.

Also interesting to show what life is like living in a fascist state - fascism starts in the family and at school.

The director David Trueba is clearly a talent to watch - he was a screenwriter on the much darker confronting but interesting Perdita Durango (Dance with the devil - 1997) - he clearly has real insight into human nature. This is a much kinder more thoughtful film and one for all of us.

9/10 for me (there are no tens).

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.

"Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed" is an odd little slice of life movie. The acting and direction are quite nice, though otherwise I didn't particularly love the film or felt connected to it. Perhaps it might be different for you--particularly if you are a Beatles fan.

The film is set in Spain in 1966. A completely obsessed English teacher dreams of meeting his idol, John Lennon. And, when Lennon comes to Spain to film "What I Did in the War", impulsively he sets off on a cross-country trek to see the singer. Along the way he picks up a runaway teen and pregnant young lady and they set off for the movie set.

All of this unfolds very slowly. VERY. This didn't bother me, though I am pretty sure many folks will balk at this. As for me, my problem was that although the characters were mildly interesting due to the acting, they were only mildly interesting. I didn't really care about them or their pursuit. Not a bad film at all but one that left me feeling curiously disinterested.