(Spain, 108 min.)
Written and directed by David Trueba
Starring:
Javier Cámara, Natalia de Molina, Francesc Colomer
The extent to which one will love Living is Easy with Eyes Closed probably depends on how easily one
identifies the title. If one immediately knows that the line is a lyric from
The Beatles’ hit “Strawberry Fields Forever,” then Living is Easy with Eyes Closed is probably like a sweet song from the
sixties. If one is one mildly (if embarrassingly) behind on one’s Beatlemania,
however, Living is Easy with Eyes Closed
is still a nice little ditty even if feels as if nothing holds it together
until the very end. Easy goes down
like a great Beatles song, though, as its upbeat sunniness has the simplicity
of tunes like “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” There’s actually a lot more to it,
however, if one listens a little more closely.
This warm comedy from David Trueba is Spain’s Official Submission for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2014 Academy Awards race after winning a slew of Goyas (Spain’s Oscar equivalent) including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor for Javier Cámara. Cámara, a regular of Pedro Almodóvar films like Talk to Her and, more recently, I’m So Excited!, gives a hearty performance of life and humour as Antonio, a Beatles-obsessed English teacher who takes a road trip to the seaside town of Almería when he learns that John Lennon is in Spain to shoot the film How I Won the War. Antonio’s story, inspired by the true tale of Juan Carrion, shows how much Beatlemania was sweeping the globe back in the Swinging Sixties, as the teacher loves the Beatles so much that he bootlegs with songs via Luxembourgish radio in his down time and teaches English by translating the songs with his class. That’s one hip teacher!
Trueba layers the story nicely by giving Antonio two
partners in crime, Belén (Natalia de Molina, utterly radiant in breakout
performance that ensures bigger things to come) and Juanjo (an effectively bashful
Francesc Colomer). Antonio picks them up on route to Almería, since the film
takes place in the days when hitchhiking and rides from strangers were still
A-Okay, and they form a band of lonely misfits who forge the kind of personal
connection that Antonio clearly seeks. (The lecture in which he explains the
subtext of the words to “Help!” to his students early on frames the film nicely.)
Belén, a runaway from a nunnery that hides pregnant young women, and Juanjo, a
runaway from a crusty father who insists his son needs a haircut, both seek the
same connection in their alienated lives. Belén is a spirited progressive and
Juanjo is a dead ringer for Mick Jagger with his shaggy locks, and they fit
right in with the quirky teacher who rambles about the Beatles as if they’re
bigger than Jesus.
Living is Easy with
Eyes Closed offers lighthearted humour, but Antonio’s quest to meet John
Lennon offers an uplifting tale of how the pursuit of a dream inspires one to
inspire others, and even something as simple as meeting a rock star can give
one enough confidence to stand up to adversity. The sunny tone of the film,
which is lensed beautifully by DP Daniel Vilar, finds a note of optimism amidst
the conservative characters who clash with the three travellers in the film. An
upbeat and charmingly simple score by Pat Metheny also warms the heart as the
outsiders of the film bond over music and strawberries—the very ones of which
Lennon sings in the song to come!
Living is Easy with
Eyes Closed looks like a mere tale of celebrity infatuation on its surface
as Antonio plays hooky from work and lingers around the film shoot like a
groupie in hopes that the armed guards hired to keep the screaming masses at
bay will make an exception just for him, but Trueba subtly uses the 1966
setting to draw out the inspiration of Lennon’s music in Franco-era Spain.
Trueba, whose Soldiers of Salamina also
draws heavily on the repercussion of the Spanish Civil War and Francoist Spain,
lets the spirit of the music waft through repressive atmosphere. Barely a word
of the Beatles’ music appears in Living
is Easy with Eyes Closed, but the way the characters help define themselves
through the music and see the songs that waft in through foreign radio as hope
for change, captures the way that the music of the 1960s ushered in a necessary
chord of progress.
At the heart of this charming film is Cámara’s infectiously
likable performance as Antonio. His Antonio is an everyman, buoyed by simple
pleasures, and a humorously humane character with a lust for life one cannot
resist. This lovely and jovial comedy invites audiences to share the finer
things in life and embrace new experiences.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Living is Easy with Eyes Closed screens in Ottawa at The ByTowne through Tuesday,
Nov. 4.
