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Release Date: 2009-01-27
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| Woody is going downhill fastThis is not much more than a holiday movie about two rather silly girls getting involved with a macho guy and his crazy hysterical wife. None of the characters was convincing or interesting. I think Woody was just looking for an excuse to spend some time in Barcelona with some pretty girls. It's a really bad film. I hated it, despite the nice scenery and cute girls.
Sweet, romantic and well acted, if not quite a great filmI'm an Allen fan. For me this was not a one of his great films, but was an
entertaining, diverting one, with two terrific performances by Javier
Bardem and Penelope Cruz, a very good one by Rebecca Hall, and a decent
one by Scarlett Johanssen.
The key flaw -- Johanssen's character comes off as very shallow, so the complexity
of her relationships with Bardem and Cruz never seem more than
adolescent. I realize that's ultimately part of the point of the film,
but here it's way too obvious from minute one, and keeps the film from
ultimately feeling deeper and more complex. None-the-less, a romantic bittersweet
film I've enjoyed well enough to go back and re-watch.
Interestingly, even more than most of Allen's films this seems to ignite very different reactions
from viewer to viewer, so I'd encourage you to check it out for yourself
if you have any interest in the elements.
ALTERNATIVE LOVE TALESA tale of the many confusing aspects of love, contrasting and comparing the mundane, stable types of love with the passionate, unstable ones. Set in a Bohemian section of Barcelona with none of the characters being satisfied enough in or out of love. All said, it's done very well and for those interested in the themes of love, well, you have to check it out. MY GRADE: B plus.
Is this Woody's worst film?Possibly... It seems that there is no script (everyone could have improvised the dialogs as they are so predictable, naive and silly). There is no catch in the beginning of the film (yes, the film has a weak, weak start). The narrator'a voice is such a poor choice. The only thing that keeps you watching is the beauty of Barcelona.
No one seems to be able to act in this film either. You want me to believe that Bardem is seducing all these women? Give me a break! He lacks any charisma in this film!
Penelope is the only one who stands out. I'm not her fan, but in this film she is the only person who brings some life to the badly-performed story - from the first few minutes she appears on the screen.
I would say: don't waste your time. This is one of the many films that can be easily skipped - missed - forgotten.
Powerful cast without a purposeVicky Cristina Barcelona is about two friends who decide to take a vacation to Barcelona. Vicky is a straight laced academic who is engaged to an equally straight laced man. She wants to spend the majority of her time in libraries and research repositories working on her thesis in Catalana identity. Cristina is basically the antithesis of Vicky in that she is fun loving and free-wheeling. The way that she is introduced makes me appear like a loose woman who is lost in life. Cristina has come to Barcelona to find herself. What both women find is an attractive Spanish artist who woos both women, even though Vicky tries to resist. Though Vicky believes herself in love with the artist, she refuses to continue a relationship with him. Instead, Cristina takes up with him and eventually moves into his villa. The movie really gets interesting when the artist's wife tries to kill herself and must move in with Cristina and the artist in order to protect her. Of course, drama ensues.
Though the movie is filled with strong performances, I still found it to be boring and the plot hackneyed. Some reviews state that the movie was created so that Allen could watch Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz make out. I believe that that is a true assessment. Overall, I was underwhelmed and do not recommend this film to anyone except hardcore Woody Allen fans.
Product DescriptionOscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Oscar nominee Penelope Cruz (Volver) and Golden Globe nominee Scarlett Johansson (The Nanny Diaries) light up the stunning city of Barcelona in this sexy romantic comedy. Vicky and Cristina are two young Americans spending a summer in Spain, who meet a charming Casanova and his beautiful but volatile ex-wife. When they all become romantically entangled, the smoldering sparks begin to fly in hilarious fashion. Critics rave, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is one of Woody Allen s finest films, with bravura performances from its incredible cast (Jeffrey Lyons, Reel Talk/NBC).
Amazon.comIt must be true that getting out of town can do a fellow a lot of good, because Vicky Cristina Barcelona is the best movie Woody Allen has made in years. Okay, you're right, 2006's Match Point already claimed that honor and, as Allen's first film made in England, established the virtues of getting away from overfamiliar territory (namely Manhattan). But the Woodman's first film made in Spain matches the ice-cold Match Point for crisp authority, and yields a good deal more sheer pleasure besides. Rebecca Hall (Vicky) and Scarlett Johansson (Cristina) play two young Americans, best friends, spending a summer in Catalonia. Vicky is going for a master's in "Catalan identity" (though her Spanish is shaky); Cristina is going along for, oh, just about anything. That soon includes celebrated abstract artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who's anything but abstract in his forthright proposition that the two join him in his private plane, his travels, and his bed. That he has an insane ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz), who may or may not have tried to kill him is not really an issue until the wife reappears and ... well, consider the possibilities. Vicky Cristina Barcelona isn't exactly a comedy, at least not in the manner of Allen's "early, funny ones," but it's informed by a rueful wit that finds its fullest expression in reflective voiceover commentary. Spoken by Christopher Evan Welch, but surely on behalf of the 73-year-old auteur, this element of the film is neither (as some have charged) patronizing nor uncinematic; rather, it's integral to the movie's participation in a venerable European literary tradition, the sentimental education. Instead of Bergman or Fellini, this time Allen is invoking the François Truffaut of Jules and Jim and Eric Rohmer in his many meditations on the game of love. The entire cast is terrific (both Hall and Johansson get to play "the Woody part" at different points), with Bardem and Cruz especially delightful as exemplars of Old Worldliness. Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe honors every drop of Catalonian sunlight and glint of Gaudí architecture. --Richard T. Jameson Stills from Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Click for larger image)
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