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.
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.