The Fool on the Hill

My friend Joana has chosen a very different life.

Kusturica, come here and make a film about us.

“The Fool on the Hill” may not be the most famous Beatles song. Nonetheless, it’s definitely one of my favorites, not just for its tunes that make me feel like I am on a cloud, but also for its lyrics. You may call it crazy, the fool on the hill, but as Paul sang:

But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round

When I met my friend, Joana, almost 4 years ago, I didn’t know I was about to meet what would be one of my best friends, or perhaps, at this point in my life, my only “physical friend.” She is 15 minutes away from the car. Despite the winding road, I always enjoy driving there. It’s 15 minutes up and up and up, and then there she is. Her house is in the middle of nowhere.

Joana, the woman who looks like Frida Kahlo and who is also a painter — and shares the same first name with me — has a life very different from all the others.

She lives on top of a mountain. She has no television, no Internet connection, and all she has is a little old smartphone that sometimes when she steps over a certain part of the hill, she can get a signal and call anyone.

When I call her and she picks up the phone, I know where she is. It is almost as if she is…