Basque Surnames: A Spanish Rom-Com Gem

Basque Surnames (O.S.V : Ocho Apellidos Vascos) is one of the best Spanish comedy films of the last few years. It premiered in 2014 in cinemas all around Spain, and now it has over 2 million views. They have a sequel called Eight Catalan Surnames (O.S.V : Ocho Apellidos Catalanes).

The film starts with Amaia Zugasti (Clara Lago) travelling to Seville on a planned honeymoon that ends up being a friend trip. Rafa Quiros (Dani Rovira), is the owner of the bar where the girls go to have fun one night. Rafa starts telling jokes and making a clown out of Basque people which makes Amaia lose her temper. They end up fighting and he kicks her out. Instead of walking away, she starts another argument but they finish kissing in Rafa’s house. The next morning Rafa wants to make Amaia breakfast but then realizes she’s gone and maybe even back in his home city. She forgets her stuff and Rafa wants to go to her city to give it back to her and maybe win her affection. At the bus he meets with Merche (Carmen Machi). When he has almost finished the trip, Amaia meets her dad (Karra Elejalde) coming by boat, so she realized he would have come to the wedding that was cancelled because she broke up with his last boyfriend but decided not to tell his father.

Amaia now needs Rafa to be his fake boyfriend just while her father is here. there is a change of plans and everything changes in just a few days. Will this change their relationship or will they finally accept they’ve fallen for each other?...The film is set in a variety of locations in Spain like Pais Vasco and Seville, which gives a very regional and national atmosphere. You get a comparison vibe in both traditions making it seem like the north and south of Spain are so different but at the end of the day, they all have something in common. The soundtrack at the end is amazing and gets you by surprise because it’s a national song giving honor to Seville.

It is this song, performed by Spanish singers Los del Rio sang with all their love to their city. The acting in this film is of a very high standard, Clara Lago keeps Dani Rovira stay in Pais Vasco with a dazzling and memorable performance. I would highly recommend this film to the people that like having a fun time because if you see this film you won’t stop laughing at how funny it is. It is a kind of Spanish rom-com that entertains all types of people. It’s intriguing because you don’t know what's going to happen next and at the end you get a quite happy vibe because it’s a marvelous production.