Vivre est facile avec les yeux fermés

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.

"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.

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.

Living is also easy when you view the world through rose coloured glasses. And whether you're the type to feel nostalgic about things before they even happen or not, this film takes you on a glorious sepia toned journey to Almeria in the late 1960s. And then makes you wish you were there.

The film follows the plight of the affable, portly protagonist, Antonio and his dream to meet his hero, John Lennon. You see, Antonio is not just a devoted Beatles fan, he's also a devoted English teacher with the patience of a saint, using The Beatle's lyrics (hot off the press) to give meaning in his classes. And there are many other saintly and religious themes throughout the film which are especially confronting for the pregnant teenager, Belen, one of the two runaways Antonio picks up en route to Almeria. The other is Juanjo, an almost debilitatingly introverted, artistic youth struggling to please his stern father. This unlikely trio find the 'help' they need in the form of one another.

The film perfectly balances moments of melancholy and joy, which is essentially life at its core. And there are nods to Truffaut (I won't give them away). Spain in the 1960's was not all free love and liberation. With the threat of the cold war looming and Spain under the tyrannic rule of the Franco regime, this seemingly light-hearted tale is set against the backdrop of a fairly weighty political climate. But don't think this stands in the way of our characters having some eye watering laughs along the way.

For younger and/or attention deficit viewers there may be parts of the film which feel a little slow, but this is the genius of the pacing. It is a quaint story about little people with big heart, and most importantly the pacing adds to the sense of time and place - an ambling coastal town.

A lovely seaside romp with some fairly lovable characters, 'Living is easy with eyes closed' was a joy to watch. An ode to the underdog and the outsider, sure it was 'feel good' but what's so bad about that? And for the record, I would consider marrying Antonio, balding and all. That man has a heart of gold.

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).