A Spanish Affair

Take a splash of wine, a smattering of sexual tension and a busload of regional rivalry and you’ve got A Spanish Affair. It’s the highest grossing romantic comedy in Spanish history and it’s easy to see why.

Anyone who’s visited the diverse regions of this Mediterranean country will know there’s more to its culture than bull fighting and flamenco. Take the northern Basque regions that look out to the English Channel for example, where our heroine, Amaia (Clare Lago) comes from. After being jilted at the altar by her former fiancé, she finds herself seeking solace in Spain’s southern city of Seville with her girlfriends. After a less than graceful exit from a bar where she’s dragged out kicking and screaming by Rafa (Dani Rovira), the comedian who she heckles – their canoodling without consummation leaves him lovesick.

After their steamy encounter, Rafa jumps on a bus for the north to return her handbag and bring her back to Andalusia. Yet, as the cliché goes, the course of love never did run smooth. Amaia rejects him outright until Koldo, her proud patriotic father (Karra Elejalde) returns and she’s faced with the decision of admitting her fiancé left her or finding a new one. That’s when matchmaker Merche (Carmen Machi) jumps in and the story gets really spicy.

While there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking in the film’s technical aspects, its attention to detail and wicked humour will have you in stitches. Rovira, a popular stand-up comic, delights with his arrogance and haphazardness, while Lago is every bit his equal in her belligerence and drive. The representation of regional stereotypes and the inherent tension between them makes for hilarious dialogue and visual comedy.

Come for a taste of politics and regional differences in Spain. Stay for a corny, yet satisfying feast of romantic comedy.