The shoot for the fifth film by Félix Viscarret (whose filmography boasts standout titles such as Bajo las estrellas [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], the documentary Saura(s) [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] and directing duties on various episodes of the magnificent series Patria [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche série]), Not Such an Easy Life [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film], kicked off a few days ago in Bilbao. It is a comedy toplined by Miki Esparbé (whom we saw recently in Donde caben dos [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], Out of Sync [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Juanjo Giménez
fiche film] and an episode of Historias para no dormir [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche série]; he also appears in the postponed Malnazidos [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], still awaiting release), Álex García (who made a splash with his appearance in Riot Police [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Rodrigo Sorogoyen
fiche série]); Olaya Caldera (The Europeans) and Ana Polvorosa (Con quién viajas [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], La Fortuna [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
interview : Alejandro Amenábar
fiche série]).

“Not Such an Easy Life revolves around people who have become parents without feeling sufficiently prepared for it, and who get submerged in the minor domestic disasters involved in juggling work commitments and life with children. They cannot silence that voice inside their heads telling them that, wherever they are, deep down, they’re doing it all wrong,” states Viscarret, who has also written the movie’s amusing script. “One night, I had this feeling that the image of parents lugging their sleeping children on their backs, across the pedestrian crossings in the city, which was obviously empty at this time, could be a powerful, moving image, capable of justifying any personal struggle,” the filmmaker sums up.

The plot introduces us to 40-year-old Isaías (played by Miki Esparbé), for whom the prizes he was given as a promising architect are already a distant memory. Now, he spends his days between his study, where he feels sorry for himself in the presence of his colleague Nico (Álex García), and the park located next to the entrance of the school, where his children play. Wherever he is, he feels like it’s not where he’s supposed to be. Furthermore, when it comes to his relationship with his wife, Ainhoa (Olaya Caldera), the passing of the years and the exhaustion caused by such young kids have taken their toll. For her, what little time she gets in this life of work and kids, she spends dreaming of being able to, one day, get a good night’s sleep. In this life that always leaves them worn to a frazzle, Isaías befriends Sonia (Ana Polvorosa), the mother of another child at the same school, who will show him that this business of bringing up your kids and beginning life as an adult is not so simple. It never has been.

Not Such an Easy Life is being produced by Lamia and A Contracorriente Films. It boasts the involvement of EITB, R Telecable and Movistar Plus+, plus support from the ICAA, the Basque government and the Navarrese government. Its distribution will be handled by A Contracorriente Films, and its release is slated for 2022. Madrid-based sales agent Latido Films will be entrusted with its international sales.