OBSERVER: Samaná Sunrise
Two couples, Ale (Luisa Mayol) and Santi (Luis Tosar), and Natalia (Bárbara Santa-Cruz) and Mario (Luis Zahera), all best friends, take a trip to the Caribbean to celebrate their anniversaries.
Fired up with the romantic location and numerous cocktails, Ale confesses that 20 years ago, on the night when they all first met, she manipulated the initial couplings.
Ale stage-managed a car breakdown to thwart Mario and flirt with Santi, who seemed interested in Natalia.
Thinking that all will accept her confession after 20 years as a joke, Ale is surprised at her friends’ angry reaction.
Too many drinks and an accidental stumble into a palm tree result in a blow to her head that initiates the first twist in the story.
Ale wakes up with a vicious hangover, convinced that she is married to her best friend’s long-term husband, utterly baffled as to why her husband claims to be Natalia’s partner and Mario is pretending to be hers.
This is the setup for Samaná Sunrise, a fun and bright comedy directed by Rafa Cortés, based on the 2007 play Cancún by Jordi Galcerán.
Like a character in a Carry On movie, enter Charles Dance playing a fellow holidaymaker who also happens to be a psychiatrist.
His advice is to play along until Ale comes to her senses.
Relationships are tested as the two couples navigate the alternate reality.
Set in the tropical paradise of the Dominican Republic, jokes come thick and fast as the friends try to accommodate Ale’s newfound revelation.
Combining screwball slapstick physical comedy, reflective moments, and some surprising twists, the excellent ensemble cast seamlessly blends comedy with finely tuned drama.
Now showing at select Australian cinemas.
Review by Kathryn Keeble