Living is Easy with Eyes Closed

Overview

Living is Easy with Eyes Closed is based on a true story about an English teacher in small town Spain who uses Beatles lyrics to inspire his students. This wouldn't be so noteworthy if it didn't take place in the 1960s during the brutal Franco regime when foreign influences were considered highly subversive.

The gregarious, balding and rotund Antonio (played to perfection by the veteran actor Javier Camara) records Beatles music off Luxemburg Radio for his students. With no Google to help him he has to transcribe the lyrics himself but there are always a few words he can't quite make out. When Antonio hears John Lennon is shooting a movie in Almeria in the south of Spain he jumps in the car, notebook in hand, to find his hero and ask him to fill in the blanks.

On the way he picks up two young misfits running away from oppressive situations. He encounters beautiful Belen (Natalia de Molina) at a petrol station. She's pregnant and has escaped from a home for unmarried mothers. Later they meet Juanjo (Francesc Colomer) who is running away in protest of his father's insistence that he cut his hair.

Once they reach their destination the trio go about hatching a plan to get Antonio past Lennon's security. They receive a little help from another outsider; the Catalonian local bar owner Ramon, played by Ramon Fontsere. He struggles to run his small business while also looking after his disabled son Bruno with no help from the state. Ramon also has a side business growing strawberries, a nod to the film's title which comes from the opening line of Lennon's 'Strawberry Fields Forever' which he wrote while on location in sun-baked Almeria.

This era of Spain is a much more innocent time and with good reason; questioning the status quo was dangerous and young people with contrary ideas were put in their place. Belen and Juanjo know the risks but are willing to put up a good fight. For Antonio and his new found friends, pop music provides hope in a more open and tolerant society.

David Trueba's film was hugely popular in Spain and dominated the Spanish Film Academy Awards, receiving two Goya awards for best picture and best director. Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed is a whimsical and entertaining film about taking chances and not letting life pass you by.

Click here to see more of our picks at the NZ International Film Festival 2014.