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It 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
Product Description
Just as New York was the backdrop in Woody Allen s Manhattan the stunning city of Barcelona is the setting for the romantic adventures of Vicky and Cristina. These two young Americans spend a summer in Spain and meet a flamboyant artist and his beautiful but insane ex-wife. Vicky is straight- laced and about to be married. Cristina is a sexually adventurous free spirit. When they all become amorously entangled the results can only be described as chaotic. Actors: Chris Messina - Javier Bardem - Penelope Cruz - Rebecca Hall - Scarlett Johansson. Director: Woody Allen. Format: DVD. Format Size: Widescreen. Runtime: 97 mins. Language: English. Subtitle: English Subtitles. Discs: 1. Region code: Region 1 (United States Canada Bermuda U.S. territories). Rating: PG-13. Genre: Comedy. Release Year: 2009.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
get rid of the voiceover narration,
By
This review is from: Vicky Cristina Barcelona (DVD)
Let's face facts, Woody Allen has long since ceased to be relevant to cinema and seems to make "films" based around this narrow New York bubble he exists in.Thankfully, he finally made a movie outside of that bubble and gave us what most of us want--a sensual pic set in a beautiful foreign locale (Barcelona natch!) and occupied with a range of characters running from the gorgeous and mysterious to the plain and mundane. Even so this movie falls so flat. The ending just seems like he ran out of money and shut the camera off. Pluys the way he actually treats relationships is almost cartoonish. the potential in the story is there but he's unable to weave multiple storylines (hey, Woodman, go watch a guy Ritchie caper flick to see how it's done in the 21st century) without seeing them simply left hanging and unresolved. Also, stop treating us adults like we can't figure out the gaps in scenes. the voiceover narration is like some sort of instructions to the blind. It's beyond annoying. First rule of cinema, if you have to use narration, especially a third person one, to explain what is going on you've done a terrible job in filmmaking and are flat-out lazy. There are zero extras on the version of this DVD I watched the flick on. That's sad as a whole Gaudi/Miro travelogue and making of is what I was dying for. Throw in the whole Javier No Country and Penelope Cruz dynamic in real life it'd be interesting to know what went on during the production of the movie.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
"....only unfulfilled love can be romantic",
By Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Vicky Cristina Barcelona (DVD)
"I have spoke with the tongue of angelsI have held the hand of a devil It was warm in the night I was cold as a stone But I still haven't found what I'm looking for" (U2) Short Attention Span Summary (SASS): 1. There's Vicky (Rebecca Hall) 2. There's Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) 3. There's Barcelona (the place in Spain, with the rain on the plain) 4. There's your movie title 5. Vicky and Cristina visit Barcelona one summer 6. Vicky's engaged, Cristina still hasn't found what she's looking for 7. They find Juan (Javier Bardem, who sure cleans up nicely once he puts away that captive bolt cow stunning gun) 8. He makes them an offer they can't refuse, but for different reasons 9. Wine, dinner and Spanish guitar follow 10. Things get crazy when the gorgeous ex-wife (Penelope Cruz in a wonderful scene-stealing performance) shows up 11. They manage a ménage 12. Deux, trois, quatre - what's the difference? 13. All good things ...... 14. ..... and we come to the end This is a rich and riotous recount of romance and reckless relationships, loaded with love, lust and loathing and lastly, leaving and longing. Recommended for fans of: 1. Woody Allen's better movies 2. Movies with narrators 3. A de-Chigurh-ed and positively smoldering Bardem 4. Muy caliente Penelope Cruz 5. That Scarlett chick Amanda Richards
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Multicultural exchange,
By
This review is from: Vicky Cristina Barcelona (DVD)
Two beautiful young women arrive in Barcelona for a bit of quiet study (Vicky) and more man hunting (Christina), and they both find a gorgeous painter (Javier Bardem - I barely recognized him) hard to resist. Then they meet his wife, played wonderfully by Penelope Cruz. A sumptuously shot, low key, romantic movie with a few twists. The humour underlying the script, the love of life; you'd hardly associate this film with Woody Allen. One of his best ever.I especially appreciated the scenes in Spanish between Bardem and Cruz(subtitled, of course). The barely suppressed violence, the instability of their relationship. The menage a trois is artfully managed; the sexuality is without overt nudity. Strongly recommended as one of the best of 2008.
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