How to become a Basque? Can a Spaniard have super powers? Why is it better not to tell your wife about winning the lottery during your divorce? – You will find answers to these and several other questions in 7 Spanish comedies that we want to recommend to you today

Photo: Dani Rovira as ’Superlópez’, source: https://www.elperiodico.com/

Ocho apellidos vascos - literal translation „Eight Basque Surnames”, known as Spanish Affair

Our favorite Spanish comedy, which beautifully shows how autonomous communities and their inhabitants differ from each other. The story, of course, a love one, begins at the bar in Seville. Amaia, Basque, was supposed to celebrate her bachelorette party there, but since the wedding is canceled, she can't forgive her friends the terrible idea – how could she be enjoying herself surrounded by guys „sticking” from hair brilliantine? From the first scene we learn the colossal differences between the Andalusians and the Basques: dressing style, the way they speak, move, dance, the music they listen to, even what they drink and their hairstyles. A beautiful, short dialogue between waiters perfectly illustrates the animosities between the Basque Country and Andalusia:

- What unearthly women, Joaquin! (Que maravilla de mujeres, Joaquin!)

- These three, Currito? Forget it! (Que, esas tres Currito? Ni se te ocurra!)

- What? They are taken? It's even better! (Porque, tienen novios? Mejor!)

- Worse! (Peor!)

- Worse? Lesbians? (Peor? Tijeraso?)

- Worse! (Peor)

- Even worse? (Peor?)

- I think they are Basque (Que deben ser Vascas por lo menos)

Of course, one of the bar employees, Rafa, falls in love with Amai and follows her to the Basque Country to give her back her wallet and bring her to Seville with him. This is where the adventure begins! Beautiful dialogues, great sense of humor, a large dose of knowledge about Spain given in an easily digestible and accessible way (of course with a grain of salt and very humorous). The cast is also not bad - Rafa's „mom” is played by Carmen Machi known from Almodovar movies, the main roles are played by Dani Rovira and Clara Lago.

Ocho apellidos catalanes - literal translation "Eight Catalan srunames", known as „Spanish Affair 2”

This is the second part of "Ocho apellidos vascos" so we are dealing with the same characters. It's hard to say something about the story without revealing too many details of the first part but we will try! This time Amaia is planning a wedding with a Catalan, so her father - Koldo, comes to Seville to Rafa (with whom Amaia broke up earlier) to recover the necklace he gave him and which is supposed to be a wedding gift. In the end, they both go to Barcelona. So this time we have a collision of three, not just two, the most different regions of Spain. Beautiful scenes, for example when Koldo (remember he is a Bask!) is clapping to flamenco with such a lack of rhythm that the band stops playing to find the guilty one in the room; when the gentlemen are carrying platforms with statues of Saints during Holy Week; when they are reading an "encrypted" wedding invitation that is simply written in Catalan and the most beautiful scene when Koldo refuses to get off the train to change to another one because as he says "Un Vasco como yo no pisa Madrid!" ("A real Basque like me will not set foot in Madrid!") If you want to see how they manage to get out of the oppression, not only this one but much more, be sure to watch "Ocho apellidos catalanes" although to be honest, it is not as good as the first part.

Superlópez

The movie, which appeared in theaters in 2018 is an extremely funny and a very good Spanish production. To be honest, when I went to the cinema to watch it, I didn't know that it is a movie based on a comicbook from the '70s! Unfortunately, my ignorance came out here because I was fully convinced that I was going to see a parody of the American film "Superman". What a positive surprise! The main character is played by Dani Rovira, whom we already know from the previous two films, and who is always a pleasure to watch and to listen to.

But let's start from the beginning. On the planet Chitón, a scientist named Jan creates an "ultimate" weapon that will help him free his planet from the rule of the ominous Skorba. The weapon is a baby with superpowers. Unfortunately Skorba finds out about the experiment but he arrives too late and Jan manages to save the baby by sending it in a spaceship towards Earth. Agata, Skorba's daughter, follows the newborn. Her ship crashes in the US while little Juan goes to Spain where he is adopted by the Lopez family. They quickly find out what powers the boy has and his new parents advise him not to brag about them too much, and actually better just hide them. Only just when Juan is already an adult he accidentally reveals his powers by trying to stop the accelerating subway to save hundreds of people from death. This is when the story of Superlopez begins. Once again, we will have a good dose of Spanish humor, I would even tempt to say that Superlopez is better than any of the latest American superhero movies. There is no violence, vulgarity and nudity in this film, but there is a great story and, once again, a large dose of Spain.

Si yo fuera rico - the literal translation of "If I were rich a rich man", not sure whether there is an Englishs version

The story of Santi (Álex García), who after making the decision to divorce with his wife learns that he has won EUR 25 million in Lotto. He hides this information from his wife Maite (Alexandra Jiménez, we know her also from Superlopez) so that he won't have to share with her. This is one of the remakes that have recently been quite popular in the european cinematography. "Si yo fuera rico" is a remake of the French film of the same name "Ah! Si j’étais riche ”(2002). In this category we also have the movie 'Perfectos desconocidos' remake of the Italian 'Perfetti sconosciuti' or 'Padre no hay más que uno', this time Spanish version of the Argentine film 'Mamá se fue de viaje' - both on our watch list, we will surely and happily share our impressions in the next article in this category.

"Si yo fuera rico" to be honest is not exactly our favorite film, we wouldn't rather included in the top 10. On the one hand, there are several nice scenes. In general it is just average. Interesting, however, is the fact that the film is about winning the lottery – lottery is one of the most Spanish things I can think of. If someone asked me what surprised me the most in Spain, "Spanish passion for lotteries" would definately get on the list.

Ventajas de viajar en tren - "Advantages of traveling by train"

A great movie, one of the best we've had the opportunity to watch lately. Unfortunately, it is fresh enough that as far as I know it is not yet available in English (maybe I am mistaken?) but it is one of those productions worth waiting for. It's hard to clearly define the category, something between black comedy, comedy drama and thriller with a bit of surrealism and a dose of absurdity. Because the film consists of subsections, I can't get rid of the impression that it somehow resembles "Burning Palms". Not only because of the structure but also the topic is somewhat similiar. Some fragments, on the other hand, remind me of the film "Gran Budapest Hotel", which is one of our favourites. It also has something from "Murder in Orient Express" or even from a brand new movie from 2019 "Knives out". Great acting and, above all, an extraordinary story. If I had to describe it in one sentence (and it is not a simple task) I would say that the film tells the story of a woman who suddenly realizes that she finds herself in an absurdly sick situation because of her schizophrenic boyfriend. The film begins on the train where the main character returns home after she leaves her partner in a psychiatric hospital. (Un)fortunately she sits down just opposite a very talkative man who introduces himself as Angel Sanagustin, a psychiatrist. Then he begins to tell her stories about his patients...

Perdiendo el Norte - the literal translation of "Losing the North", official English title „Off course"

A little older production but thanks to that available also in English. It tells the story of two friends who after graduation cannot find a job. In Spain, this is a hot period of crisis and rising unemployment. Hugo and Braulio decide to go to Berlin, which they know only from a TV program. Of course, it is easy to guess that the reality is very different from their imaginations but they have to manage somehow in this new life situation. Hugo, 27 with a double bachelor's degree (administration + marketing and management) and a master's degree in Business Administration and Braulio, a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in cellular and molecular biology. At the beginning of the film we have a beautiful summary of the story, which explains perfectly what the film is about (quote, says Hugo):

"We belong to the generation best prepared in the whole history (...), which was supposed to have better lives than parents, and ended up living like grandparents (...). Now they call us the lost generation, but I know exactly where I am: I work 10 hours a day in a Turkish restaurant in Berlin, from which I leave every night smelling like a falafel and wonder "how the hell did this happen ?! "

"Pertenecemos a la generación mejor preparada de la historia (...) la que iba venir mejor que sus padres pero ha acabado viviendo como sus abuelos (...). Ahora nos llaman generación perdida, pero yo se muy bien donde estoy, trabajando 10 horas diarias en un restaurante turco de Berlin del que salgo cada noche oliendo a falafel y preguntandome "como cono nos ha podido llegar esto ?!"

A light comedy, no revelation. Recently another part of "Perdiendo el Este "but we haven't seen it yet. We will definitely share our opinion with you once we watch it.

La gran familia espanola - "The Great Spanish Family", official title „Family United”

Pretty and pleasant comedy. The film begins in primary school where a young boy proposes to his classmate. Many years later their wedding takes place and that is what the film is about. The date, which the future bride and groom (who barely turned 18) chose for this unique event, unfortunately coincides with the FIFA World Cup. A "beautiful" image of a huge,united, Spanish family with a lot of intrigue and complexity. The wedding is interrupted because the groom's father faints...

If you prefer other types of films have a look here - Spanish cinema – films, we have seen recelty and which are definately worth watching.