A HOUSE ON FIRE
A review by Mia Humphreys
Middle-class divorcee Montse (Emma Vilarasau) has grown distant from her family. Her children – the perpetually frazzled Julia (Maria Roderiquez Soto) and manchild David (Enric Auquer) – have long since ignored her. But when the family is dragged back together by the potential sale of their Costa Brava house, Montse is determined to enjoy her weekend – no matter what.
A HOUSE ON FIRE is a sharp examination of the familial divides that money can cause, where the characters are too absorbed in their own grievances to fully appreciate their impressive beachside home. Director Dani de la Orden deftly navigates between elements of comedy, drama and tragedy. The solid and well-plotted script simmers with a tension that never lets up. In one of the biggest set pieces, David’s girlfriend Marta (Macarena Garcia) chooses the worst possible moment to break up him – right before their first skydive experience together. It grips the viewer in stomach-flipping suspense until the very last moment, leaving them unsure if the scene will end in laughter or tears.
Each character in A HOUSE ON FIRE feels uniquely flawed and fully realised, none more so than Montse, who elevates every scene she is in. Emma Vilarasau delicately balances the more Machievellian aspects of Montse’s character with the sadness of being an unappreciated mother. Despite her more questionable and hypocritical actions, including her apparent obliviousness to how she treats her own mother, Orden trusts the audience not to condemn Montse but to accept her flaws. Maria Roderiquez Soto also offers a compelling parallel in her portrayal of Julia as a desperately unhappy mother and wife who seeks escapism through an affair with a local waiter.
A HOUSE ON FIRE is a thoughtful and brutally frank exploration of the miserable banality of a family stretched to their breaking point. It is an endlessly affecting tragicomedy that will resonate with anyone.