At age 24, Rémi Bonnet, brilliant pianist, abandons Chopin and Toulouse to play the music he has secretly loved for years - Salsa! He heads for Paris, the salsa capital of Europe, only to discover to his great surprise, that nobody wants a white boy in Latin band! Felipe, his Cuban friend, sets him straight: " You don't have the Latino look, muchacho! Today, if your are not Cubano or Columbiano, you are out!". Undaunted, Rémi deliberately takes on the identity, accent and complexion of an unemployed alien in a city where most foreigners will do almost anything to become French. Barreto, 75, the legendary Cuban composer, who is about to close down the once famous Casa Cubana, offers Rémi a job giving dance lessons to the locals. It is here that Rémi falls in love with Nathalie. Her family's "secrets and lies" reveal parental links to Barreto. Do these links explain why this shy beauty ought to be a bomb on the dance floor?
Acting
Vincent Lecœur commits fully to the physical comedy of faking Latino.
Production
Actual Paris salsa scene locations, Casa Cubana feels genuinely lived-in.
Costume
Rémi's transformation wardrobe is a masterclass in trying too hard.
Director
Joyce Buñuel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Filmed during the late-'90s Paris salsa explosion; Casa Cubana was a real venue that closed shortly after, making this a time-capsule of a vanished scene.
Director Joyce Buñuel is Luis Buñuel's daughter — her father's surrealist legacy makes this straightforward crowd-pleaser almost rebellious by comparison.
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