Easy Living (Orso and Peter Miyakawa, 2019): Italy

Reviewed by Maria Zermeno. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

The 2019 film Easy Living is a melancholic dramatic comedy and definitely a must see. Brothers Orso and Peter Miyakawa wrote and directed this amazing film that has become one of my favorite films of the 2020 film festival. Orso and Peter studied film at the University of California, Santa Barbara and with Easy Living being their first film together have a lot of talent to make it big within the film industry. Easy Living is a dramatic comedy about a 14 year old boy named Brando, played by James Miyakawa the youngest brother of Orso and Peter, and his older sister Camilla, played by Camilla Semino Favro. Brando lives in Italy with his older sister Camilla who illegally smuggles medicines between the Italian and French border. They encounter an American tennis player named Donald or “Don,” played by Manoel Hudec, who dreams of becoming a painter and later finds himself falling for Camilla. Don makes for a funny and entertaining character as he tries to win over Camilla’s heart meanwhile she remains uninterested in him. The plot of the film thickens as Brando and Camilla stumble upon their friend Elvis, played by Alberto Boubakar Malanchino, who is an illegal migrant and whose wife is currently pregnant and living in France. Sadly, Elvis is stuck in Italy unable to be with his wife and unable to cross into the French border to due his legal status. Brando and Camilla feel for Elvis’ situation and with the help of Don they come up with a plan to try and sneak Elvis across the border. Although this film is funny, it deals with a big topic that has become more popular than ever during these times. The film is definitely a must see and worth the watch. The ending of the film had me on the edge of my seat and I honestly didn’t know what would happen as they try to smuggle Elvis into France. In the beginning, Brando is a young innocent boy just trying to live through his childhood but towards the end of the film, you can definitely see his progression as a character as he opens up about Elvis’ situation and the risk of sneaking him into France. For this being James Miyakawa’s first ever film he does an incredible job and has a great career ahead of him as an actor. The film was so beautifully shot and deserves more recognition because it was so perfectly written and directed. Easy Living is not only scenically beautiful, it also has amazing music playing throughout the film which keeps the audience engaged and on the edge of their seats. The fact that Orso and Peter chose “Easy Living” as the title of their film expresses how although all the characters live in Italy, their struggles differ from one another and shows how some have it way easier than others. There were some great laughs throughout the beginning of the film but towards the end there were definitely moments that left the audience in suspense. Easy Living is a fun film for all ages and deserves more recognition because it truly is an amazing film.