Spanish Affair

Rafa is a young man from Seville who has never felt the need to leave his native Andalusia, where wine, hair gel and women have always been enough for him. That changes when he meets Amaia, a Basque woman who proves immune to the charm he relies on. Determined to win her over, he follows her north to the Basque Country, where he has to pass himself off as a local, adopting a Basque name and a long list of Basque surnames to convince her and the people around her. The clash between his southern habits and the northern setting, including its language and customs, drives the comedy.

The film is a comedy directed by Emilio Martínez Lázaro, working from a screenplay by Borja Cobeaga and Diego San José. It came more than fifteen years after his earlier features such as Sus años dorados and Backroads, and Martinez Lazaro went on to make Spanish Affair 2 the following year and A Hipster in Rural Spain in 2024. Dani Rovira plays Rafa and Clara Lago plays Amaia, with Carmen Machi, Karra Elejalde, Alberto López and Alfonso Sánchez in supporting roles.

Made on a budget of about 3 million dollars, the film took roughly 79 million dollars worldwide, a return far beyond its modest cost. Audiences rate it 6.5 out of 10 on IMDb from around 20,000 votes and 6.6 out of 10 on TMDB from several hundred votes.