Who doesn’t love a musical romance? OK…a lot of you do, but not me. From Spain, filmmakers Àlex Tejedor and Miquel Verd tell a tale of forbidden love in their short film Sergi & Irina.
On a beautiful summer solstice in 1939, the affluent Forteza family is throwing their annual summer party for friends and family. Irina Dols (Teresa Ferrer) is the daughter of the Forteza’s groundskeeper. As she stands by the lake, she sings a song about this magical spot that takes her away from the problems of the world.
As she sings, her beauty captures the heart of the young Sergi (Adrián Salzedo). After a brief moment of flirting, Irina realizes that Sergi is one of the Forteza children. When she runs away in embarrassment, Sergi chases after Irina with big band music playing behind him.
“When she runs away in embarrassment, Sergi chases after Irina with big band music playing behind him.”
Before the two can profess their love for one another, the Jewish Irina tells Sergi she is leaving the town because her kind is no longer welcome in this part of Spain. Sergi tells her that he is also leaving for family business in Germany. If their love is real, the two promise to return to this very spot by the lake in their same dress and tux. A year is a long time to wait.
For any indie film to produce a 40s-style musical is quite an accomplishment, and writer/director Tejedor and Verd accomplished a lot. Though not your big Hollywood production, the duo produces a wonderful musical in both original song and dance. The Mallorca location, costumes, and make-up would leave any low-budget production jealous.
With the film strictly spoken in Spanish, the song translations leave much to be desired, but Ferrer and Salzedo do justice to the genre. From their first glance to their first kiss to their chance to reunite, the pair beautifully captures this roller coaster romance. Hats off to Sergi & Irina for also taking it to a very severe and dark point in the end.
"…a wonderful musical in both original song and dance."
