The Vernon Film Society’s first film of the spring season will be shown Monday at the Towne Cinema.
Living is Easy with Eyes Closed is a charming nostalgic road movie with the title coming from The Beatles’ song Strawberry Fields Forever.
Directed by David Trueba, this Spanish movie is inspired by the true story of a teacher who uses Beatles’ lyrics to teach his students English. He sets off on his journey hoping to clarify the meaning of some lyrics he can’t quite understand and of course to meet his hero John Lennon.
Lennon was making the movie How I Won the War in Almeria while attempting to leave The Beatles and become an actor.
On his way, the teacher, Antonio, played by Javier Camara (Talk to Her), meets two runaways, Juanjo, a 16 year old escaping from his suffocating home and father, and Belén, a 20-year-old pregnant girl reluctantly planning to go home to her mother.
Together they travel in Antonio’s Fiat across the stunning backdrop of Franco’s sun-drenched Spain.
This comedy/drama evokes a period of transition when the Franco dictatorship could no longer shield the younger generation from pop culture influences.
As we accompany the unlikely threesome, we see them reach a destination where they will learn more about themselves and one another than they could have imagined.
“This small gem offers a lovely evocation of Spain as well as a touching tribute to an unforgettable moment in time when The Beatles seemed to offer brand new possibilities,” reads a review in The Hollywood Reporter.
The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. It shows at the Towne Cinema Monday at 5:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $7, available one week ahead at the Theatre and the Bean Scene. The movie is not yet rated.
