"Living is easy with eyes closed / Misunderstanding all you see / It’s getting hard to be someone, but it all works out."

Beatles fans may recognize this as the opening verse of the 1967 classic "Strawberry Fields Forever," which John Lennon wrote a year previously when he ventured into film acting in Almeria, Spain for Richard Lester’s "How I Won The War." This factoid serves as the backdrop in the David Trueba’s delightful dramedy "Living is Easy With Eyes Closed," which centers on a trio of randomly assorted characters and their odyssey through the countryside to meet an icon.

"Living is Easy With Eyes Closed" shows two more times at the Milwaukee Film Festival on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 11:15 a.m. at the Oriental Theatre and Saturday, Oct. 4 at 4:15 p.m. at Fox Bay Cinema. 

Antonio (Javier Cámara) is a balding and slightly sluggish 40-something English language teacher who is encompassed in Beatlemania. This is quite apparent when his only scene in the classroom involves teaching his slightly underwhelmed kids an important lesson through using the lyrics of the "Help!" and its meaning.

When he learns that John Lennon is on location filming a movie in Almeria, he decides to hit the road in a cramped car to meet his hero. Along the way, however, he meets two runaways: Belen (Natalia de Molina), a pregnant and unwed 20-year-old girl trying to find her way to some place new, and Juanjo (Francese Colomer), a teenage boy who flees from his overbearing father who disapproves of his mop-top, Beatles-like hairstyle.

It comes to no surprise that Antonio has more compassion than hair, and offers to take the two along for the ride. The trio forms a familial-like bond, held together mostly by Antonio’s determination, warmth and overall unthreatening demeanor. Of course, as in any journey, there are slight obstacles along the way to Almeria, a land of strawberry fields. Once they reach their destination, they set up a temporary residence at a farmhouse in the area where they meet an innkeeper, a shopkeeper and his disabled son.

Although the trio faced obstacles on the way, they find themselves having even more difficulties trying to find a way past security, potted plants, bullish locals an intimidating farmer and other obstacles to meet Lennon.

In a lot of similarly structured road films, Antonio’s trip to meet Lennon becomes less about the destination than the journey. This is a cliché that mostly works, however, because it leaves time and room for character development. Much to our delight, David Trueba, who also wrote the screenplay, develops the three characters in a way that makes us care about their journey rather than leaving them underdeveloped and us feeling car sick as the response. It certainly helps that the journey was consistently engaging.

The journey wouldn’t be as engaging, however, without the performances. Cámara is the soul of the film as Antonio, a sort-of loser who has a big heart, but questions why he still finds himself alone. This may or may not have something to do with the large Dahmer glasses that hang on his face, but that’s just my guess. He brings a lot of warmth, amusing awkwardness and humanity to Antonio, who becomes more like a mentor to his younger counterparts.

His performance also makes the character superbly likable to the point where you’d throw a fit if he didn’t get the chance to reach his goal. His journey to reach the goal, however, was difficult and often abusive like getting harassed or getting hit with flower pots that were thrown at him from a balcony by a blonde woman (presumably Cynthia Powell, Lennon’s wife at the time). De Molina and Colomer are impressive with what they’re given to work with. Each is a supporting character that is given nearly or just as much development as the lead.

The characters, even Antonio in a way, rebels against the norms that were pushed against them, and for this, they discovered themselves in unimaginable ways. This sort of rebellious conquest directly relates to the era in which this film takes place, especially in Spain where Francisco Franco (no relation to James Franco) had established harsh reign, which spread fear and oppression. This political landscape was certainly a hinted backdrop in the film. Although the political message is never overstated, there’s a scene in which Antonio says, "Too many people live in fear in Spain." For many, living was easier with eyes closed.

"Life is Easy With Eyes Closed," which has won six Goya awards (which is the Spanish equivalence to the Oscars) may be a wee bit predictable, but as in any road film, sometimes the journey is more important than the destination, which itself is heartwarmingly satisfying to the highest degree. This satisfaction stems from the fact that we’re reminded of in the film’s final moments: a dream, even ones that involve meeting an unreachable icon such as John Lennon, is reachable enough to realize.

The performances, beautiful cinematography of the Spanish countryside, and the honestly funny true story is only part of what makes this a film worthy of its success.

"Living is Easy With Eyes Closed": ****