The Last Sunrise: a summer love story à la Romeo & Juliet in Mallorca
Aren't summer romances the biggest cliché in the film world? Mmm… Maybe, but personally, I am really ready for the next one in a long series. Amazon Prime’s The Last Sunrise is yet another delightful story where two attractive people find each other under the sunset at a summer destination. With a twist, of course. Because this time we follow the chronically ill Ry, who during a summer on an island finally decides to live as if her illness doesn’t dictate every choice. And yes, of course, there’s a handsome Spanish boy involved. Add this film to your wishlist, because this is why you really want to see this ‘cliché film’.
What is The Last Sunrise about?
This film is about Ry, also known as Oriah Pera. As a young dancer, she was initially only concerned about which move followed the other, but everything changes when she has an epileptic seizure while dancing. What turns out? She suffers from tuberous sclerosis. That is a rare genetic condition where all sorts of benign tumors develop throughout her body. Due to the tumors in her head, she has seizures. She can take medication for this, but it makes her drowsy. Another option is surgery, which could result in her losing all her memories. She chooses the pills and travels with her overprotective mother, Isolde, to Mallorca.
Once she arrives on the island where her mother grew up, she meets the local fisherman Julián García. He shows her the real Mallorca outside the luxury resorts. Think of beaches, boat trips, and motorcycle rides to places where ordinary tourists never go. Ry wants to experience what it’s like to not be a patient for once and decides to stop taking her medication. This is dangerous, but worth the risk. During the vacation, she naturally falls in love with Julián. But she can’t be with him, because like in every telenovela, their families are arch-enemies. It’s just like Romeo and Juliet, but set on a Spanish island.
Isn’t this just another cliché story about a summer romance?
On paper, it seems to have The Last Sunrise every ingredient from the summer romance handbook. Our main characters are beautiful, they live in a place where the sun never stops shining, and they all have secrets. Yet, the film tries to portray more than just a romantic vacation story à la Dirty Dancing. Ry’s chronic illness and her mother’s panic are central. It raises questions about how much risk you can take to feel like you’re truly living and what the consequences of that are.
Of course, there are some clichés, such as dramatic misunderstandings, a new antagonist, and a business conflict that threatens to ruin a relationship, but that’s part of a teen film. Mainly, the illness and everything that comes with it is anything but a commonly used textbook example. The story about the illness is actually very realistic because it is inspired by a true story. The author of the eponymous book, on which the film is based, has a son who suffers from the same disease. As a result, we see not a person trapped by a chronic illness, but someone who is allowed to fall in love, make mistakes, and dream about the future.
Is the film very different from the book?
Actually not. The book by Anna Todd (who wrote the Na-books) was not difficult to translate into a film because the original was a screenplay. After it was released as a book, it has now been filmed again. The main lines from the book are exactly the same: Ry goes to Mallorca with her mother, she falls in love with Julián, and she tells him nothing about her illness.
But there are a few differences, such as the character Carlos, who is meant to add a bit more tension to the romance. We also see less of the relationship between Julián and his father Mateo and what he has to do with Ry’s mother Isolde.
Who is Maia Reficco?
The role of Ry is played by Maia Reficco. She is an Argentine-American actress and singer you might know as Noa Olivar from Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and as Montana from Kally’s Mashup. Besides her TV and film work, she played Eurydice in the Broadway musical Hadestown.
Besides Maia, there are plenty of other familiar faces in The Last Sunrise. Julián is played by Fernando Linez, whom you might recognize from Elite, SKAM España and Scandal: Story of an Obsession. And we know Ry’s mother from thousands of roles as Gabriella Solis in Desperate Housewives: Eva Longoria.
Are you in the mood for a summer romance with a dramatic, sad edge? Then The Last Sunrise is something for you. In less than two hours, you will be fully immersed in the warmest summer love in Mallorca. And whether that’s cliché or not: sometimes that’s exactly what you feel like.
