Live Is Life
By Brian Costello,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Bullying, drinking in engaging coming-of-age dramedy.
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Live Is Life
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What's the Story?
In LIVE IS LIFE, Rodri (Adrián Baena) is a young teen who, once the last day of school has ended, leaves the big city with his family to spend the summer in the countryside with his grandparents. Like previous summers, he also will be spending his days with his best friends -- Garriga, the twins Alvaro and Maza, and Suso. The day after Rodri returns, on Midsummer's Eve, these five decide to go on an adventure in which they ride their bikes into the mountains in the hopes of finding the rare flower that they believe will cure Alvaro's terminal cancer and bring Suso's father back from the coma he has been in. Along the way, the teens get into skirmishes with a gang of teen bullies on motorcycles, sneak into vacant vacation homes, and confront the fact that they're growing up. While their adventure takes them to an epic party hosted by Garriga's dream girl, they also get more than they bargained for after riding through a down-and-out part of the region. As they search for the flower, Rodri and his friends learn the importance of taking risks in life as they try to navigate the first challenges of getting older.
Is It Any Good?
This is an engaging coming-of-age dramedy with enough story and acting talent to overcome the familiar aspects of this "hero's journey." Live Is Life tells the story of five young teens in the Spanish countryside who are spending one last summer together. They go on a quest of sorts, and what separates this movie from so many others with a similar story is that this happens to be a very good one.
For instance: While it's set in the mid-1980s, there's a refreshingly light touch to the nostalgia. Unlike other period movies or shows that rely too heavily on abundant pop culture references to see us through (Stranger Things, cough cough), Live Is Life -- aside from the mullet haircuts of the bullying teens, infrequent pop songs from that time, and an ironic prophecy of a future where there will be wireless phones that also function as computers -- focuses more on the story and evolving relationships among these five teens. There's nothing groundbreaking about the use of this genre (coming-of-age) and form (hero's journey) here, but what matters most is how effectively the filmmakers use these to tell a good story. In that context, this works.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Live Is Life is a coming-of-age movie. How is this similar to and different from other movies about growing up that you've seen?
This movie is based on a book. What challenges do you think people face when adapting a book into a movie? Are movies like these usually better or worse than the books on which they are based?
Like Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope, this movie mirrors the structure of the "hero's journey." How does it fit that structure? What are some other movies, books, and classic stories that follow this structure?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: July 18, 2022
- Cast: Adrián Baena , Juan del Pozo , David Rodriguez
- Director: Dani de la Torre
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Adventures , Brothers and Sisters , Friendship , High School
- Run time: 109 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: February 17, 2023
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