Spanish Film Festival 2014 - Sydney

Spanish Film Festival 2014 - Sydney

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Posted 2014-04-16 by Spamfollow

Tue 29 Apr 2014 - Sun 18 May 2014



It's that time of the year again. The Spanish Film Festival's 2014 incarnation kicks off on Tuesday April 29 before bringing down the shutters on May 18. In between, 30 contemporary Spanish/Latin American films will light up the screens of the Palace cinemas at Norton Street Leichhardt and The Verona in Paddington.

The opening night at Palace Verona Paddington showcases the uplifting "Living is Easy with Eyes Closed", winner of 6 categories at this year's Goya Awards , the equivalent to Spain's Oscars, including Best Picture.

Anybody recognise that title? Tick tick tick tick. Times up! Those who mentioned the fact that it's the opening line from the Beatles Strawberry Fields, give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back.

Set in the mid 1960s and deep in the bowels of Franco's reign, the plot centres on the story of Antonio (played by Spanish icon Javier Camara). So where's the connection?



Antonio is an English teacher with a fetish for Beatles music, using the lyrics of the Fab Four's songs to teach his pupils. Trouble was, transcripts of those lyrics never appeared on early Beatles 'albums and Antonio was left to scribe them according to how his ear translated. None too easy a task when English is a second language and the increasingly incomprehensible and psychedelic path the songs were taking on Beatles' albums.

The solution for Antonio fell out of the sky in 1966 when John Lennon briefly visited Almeria to shoot a film. Antonio jumped his car for the long road trip to meet his idol and a proof reading of his teaching transcripts. En route, he picks up a pair of young itinerant runaways who provide a quirky sub-plot to the bigger picture.

This is not the story of a Beatles groupie stalking his hero. Rather it's the tale of a dedicated teacher looking to dot every i and cross each t in his left field teaching philosophy. In fact the real meat and potatoes of the film are the inter-personal relationships that develop amongst the lead cast. We dig into the lives of our unlikely 3 amigos. Another version of a coming of age for the two transients with more than a fair dollop of assistance from our hero teacher.

Now a question for trivia buffs. What was the first Beatle's album to include a printed transcript of the lyrics? You must be some sort of fan (or rely heavily on dumb luck) if you answered Sergeant Peppers.



This is no coincidence. "Living is Easy with Eyes Closed" is the true story of Juan Carrion, still alive and teaching English to this day. Having met with this humble English teacher back in sixties Spain, Lennon was inspired enough from then on to include the written lyrics on all future albums.

True story? You better believe it. Plus you get the feeling that fact was never a victim in the retelling of this whimsical tale, an ethos Hollywood sometimes has a tough time sticking to.

In "Vivir es Facil con los Ojos Cerrados", writer and director David Trueba has pieced together a delightful cinema experience. He also bleeds a blue chip yet subtle performance from Camara who may finally, by virtue of this character, be on the radar of a few directors aiming at a more global audience.

Come the opening night and my tip is this film will have you backing up for any number of the other 29 offerings over the 3 weeks of the festival. Viva el cine espanol!



#paddington
#movie_reviews
#leichhardt
#inner_west
#film_reviews
#film_festivals
#cinema
#city
#april
!date 29/04/2014 -- 18/05/2014
%wnsydney
211256 - 2023-06-16 06:35:01

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