''The Little Switzerland'' ( es, La pequeña Suiza, links=no) is a 2019 Spanish-Portuguese

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Kepa Sojo and starring Maggie Civantos, Jon Plazaola, Ingrid García-Jonsson and

Secun de la Rosa Secundino de la Rosa Márquez (born 23 December 1969), artistically known as Secun de la Rosa, is a Spanish actor and theatre author and director. Biography Secundino Benjamín Juan de la Rosa Márquez Ailagas de Carvajal was born in Barce ...

. The plot draws inspiration from the Treviño enclave dispute, and comedy films such as ''

Passport to Pimlico ''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the u ...

'' (1949), and ''

Welcome Mr. Marshall! ''Welcome Mr. Marshall!'' ( es, link=no, ¡Bienvenido, Mister Marshall!) is a 1953 Spanish comedy film directed by Luis García Berlanga, and considered one of the masterpieces of Spanish cinema. The film highlights the stereotypes held by both ...

'' (1953).

Plot

The plot concerns about a town in Castile and León with a majority of citizens leaning towards joining the Basque Country. Those attempts are frustrated by the opposition of the

Junta of Castile and León The Junta of Castile and León ( es, Junta de Castilla y León; JCyL) is the governing and administrative body of the Spanish autonomous community of Castile and León and serves as the executive branch and regulatory authority. It comprises the ...

and the passivity of the

Basque Government The Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritza, es, Gobierno Vasco) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the ''Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque P ...

. A local woman then finds a crypt with the purported remains of

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

's son Walter and the population ensuingly proceed to embrace a Swiss identity.

Cast

Production

A Spanish-Portuguese co-production, the film was produced by Nadie es perfecto alongside Kuttuna Filmak and Stopline Films, with the participation of

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

. Shooting locations in

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...

included Artziniega,

Ayala/Aiara Aiara in Basque or Ayala in Spanish is a municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , ...

Laudio/Llodio Laudio/Llodio is a town and municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Laudio is the name in Basque language and Llodio in Spanish; both are used indistinctly. Geography and Demography Llodio is an ...

, and

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ), also alternatively spelled as Vittoria in old English-language sources, is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country and of the province of Álava in northern Spain. It holds the autonomous community' ...

Release

Distributed by

eOne Films Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production ...

, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 26 April 2019.

Reception

According to Jordi Battle Caminal, reviewing for ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is Spanish digital and print film magazine which has been in circulation since 1946. It is one of the early film magazines in Spain. History Founded in Barcelona, it was first published on 15 November 1946 by Antonio Nadal-Rodó a ...

'', the best of the film are the

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...

References

External links

* Spanish comedy films 2019 comedy films 2019 films Films shot in Spain 2010s Spanish films Films set in Castile and León 2010s Spanish-language films Films shot in the Basque Country (autonomous community) {{2010s-Spain-film-stub