"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is as exhilarating, enthralling and enjoyable as a summer love affair in an exotic city.
(Victor Bello/The Weinstein Company, 2008)More Photos
Woody Allen's a la mode comedy almost the vagaries of rage, set in Barcelona, shows that endearing Spanish metropolis off to its topper advantage, just now as it does its lead actors.
A witty, engrossing and well-crafted musing on the whimsical nature of love, the film also is a valentine to the city, which is almost an additional quality. Its ocular splendors are displayed in a sun-dappled light with special regard for its striking prowess and computer architecture, particularly the work of Antoni Gaudi. Allen seems to have been refreshed since he began motion-picture photography in Europe.
The title derives from the names of two American women travelling in Spain. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) ar best friends, with vastly different attitudes about relationships. Vicky approaches love pragmatically and is engaged to a stolid and decent American piece (Chris Messina). Cristina is a relieve spirit, always searching for transcendent love. After attending an fine art exhibit, the women meet a painter, Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) who invites them to the town of Oviedo for a weekend of fine food, wine and amorous playfulness. Vicky is put off, but Cristina is enthralled. Of class, things don't transpire the way we expect.
We con about Juan Antonio's spousal relationship to the gorgeous merely unstable Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) through the accounts of others. A lot has been written about the m�nage � trois involving Bardem, Cruz and Johansson, but the story is more substantive than sensational.
Bardem and Cruz ar perfect, and their interpersonal chemistry is palpable. Johansson is a bit bland, only her attitude is appropriate to play an adrift soul. Hall, who sounds like the young Mia Farrow, does a fine job.
The yearnings and entanglements of the characters ar engrossing, and provocative questions are elevated about love. Like a glass of sangria, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is a zesty and luscious film to be savored.
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