Tea & Sangria

Great mini-budget independent film about life in Madrid and the cultural quirks between the Brits and Spanish that make us such an interesting combination! You will connect with this film if you have ever: lived abroad, tried to learn anew language, been in love with someone from a different culture, or love Spain. I lived in Madrid for 8 years and recognize so many things depicted here. It was also nice to see Madrid as the backdrop for a romantic film, as it is such a beautiful city and we don't see it often enough as a location. I went to see it with Spanish friends who laughed their socks off and thoroughly enjoyed it. A kind, funny little film which is genuinely affectionate towards our Latin neighbors.

Shot on a tiny shoe-string budget in Madrid, with quite a lot of close-ups (partly to reduce the difficulty of filming location shots presumably), this is a watchable film despite not looking glossy or particularly polished. It's also enhanced by nice music along the way.

The film seems to be a reasonably accurate reflection of the culture of relationships in Spain and the difficulties experienced by a British 'fish out of water' in a foreign country, trying to make a living after his relationship with a Spanish girl hits the rocks.

A few scenes are laugh-out-loud funny but most of laughs are more of the regular chuckle variety.

The dialogue feels quite real, but some of the situations are clearly exaggerated for comedic effect. Equally it's unlikely that the protagonist/hero would be quite such a sexual magnet in real life, but as he wrote, produced and directed the film as well as starred in it - and based some of the story on his real life adventures in Spain - I think we can let him off a degree of escapism.

I watched this charming movie with a friend on a lazy Sunday afternoon - and that was exactly the right thing to do. We came out of the cinema still giggling and truly uplifted. During the Q&A session we learned that the film is made on a shoestring and it took a couple of years to complete it. Congratulations to the Director (who also wrote it and is in it as an actor) to his determination to get this film made - against the odds and whatever else comes with film-making. There are some lovely moments, observing the (funny) quirks of understanding a foreign culture... Well observed and expressed. I had quite a few moments when I remembered how it felt when I came to live in the UK. I don't want to spoil it - you have to go and watch for yourself.

Tea & Sangria is the story of an Englishman who travels to Spain to be with the woman he loves, and then realises that, in this new country, he must find a way to deal with another culture and with the person that he slowly becomes in that culture. This is what a good rom-com really should be, a frank look at relationships and the human aspects of personal failure and success. It's not a smooth story, nor a perfectly finished final product; the lead actor, who is also the director, is certainly no matinée idol, and there's not quite enough made out of the setting of Madrid, but all of that is beside the point in the end. The film delivers an honest and very amusing account of what it's like to try and adapt to a new place without losing your own identity, and anyone who's been transplanted even for a short while will recognise moments of real truth.

A micro-budget film clearly made with love and determination. It's a sweet, funny, warm depiction of the ups and downs of love and life abroad. Great locations, some laugh out loud moments, good performances, strong dialogue and all set to a great soundtrack to boot ('Find My Second Home' is a particularly enjoyable earworm).

A little rough around the edges perhaps, but in reality that is not unlike life itself and only serves to add to the authentic feel of the world within the film.

If you have ever lived abroad and/ or been in love then this is definitely for you.