"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!

I found this movie on Netflix streaming and it is a real gem of a movie but English-only fans need to do a lot of reading subtitles. Most of it is in Spanish, and of course set and filmed in Spain.My first attraction to the movie is its title, that phrase and the song "Strawberry Fields" have been favorites of mine since the 1970s. The phrase, "living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see" is one of the more profound in any form of writing. Set in 1966, Javier Cámara is 40-something Antonio, a teacher of English in a small Spanish city. He has become an ardent Beatles fan and uses lyrics from their songs to help teach. He finds out that John Lennon is an actor in the 1967 British film "How I Won The War", being filmed not too far away, in Almería, so he borrows his dad's old car and sets out on a road trip. He matter of factly plans to find Lennon and meet him.Along the way he quickly meets two runaways looking for rides. The first is a young 20s Natalia de Molina as Belén. She doesn't seem too particular about where she goes and accepts the offer of a ride. The second is teenager Francesc Colomer as Juanjo. We see some of his family dynamics and his dad is very hard on him, insisting he cut his mop of hair short, among other things, so he hits the road.It is not possible in a written review to describe the wonderful dynamics that develop among this trio. Antonio is a very nice man, he easily does favors for others, and because he always has been teaching children never has had time for a wife and family.This is one of the best movies I have seen this year.SPOILERS: The three find a temporary base in a small fishing and strawberry village on the sea, Juanjo gets a menial job at the restaurant/bar. After one day and just before bed in separate rooms, Antonia tells Belén how pretty she is and calmly wonders if she would consider marrying him. Then he tells her he would marry her. The day before he found out she was 3 months pregnant. That same night Belén has a romantic encounter with Juanjo, but basically tells him he is too young. Antonio finally does manage to get a few minutes with Lennon in his trailer and comes out with his portable recorder, with an early version of "Strawberry Fields" sung and played by Lennon. As they all part he tells Belén you know where to find me, if you ever need me for anything.

I gave this film a chance. It was on TV. I was in doubt. Then I realized how good it is. Pure Poetry. A journey through relationships, events and symbols. It looks like all the characters are so well designed, the relationship in between them. Two worlds are presented, the old generation vs the new generation, the hippie one. It has some nice landscapes also. It has a very nice music. It has rhythm. The movie is so well designed; you can meet in this movie three characters, one belonging to the adult generation, a teacher, and two kids. But I don't want to spoil it. You can also find lots of wisdom in this film. Just give it a try! Give it a try!

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.