Woody Allen is one of those directors whose films I need to see more of. My experience has been pretty limited thus far, with the majority of my experience coming with his output over the past decade or so, with just a few coming from his earlier films. That said, I found 2005's Match Point to be an exceptional film; however the subsequent film I saw, Cassandra's Dream, was less than stellar despite a couple of strong performances. That leads to my expectations for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which consisted primarily of hopes for it to be better than Cassandra's Dream. I mean, I really did not know much of anything regarding the plot as I entered the theater. I knew that the stars included Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, and Javier Bardem, but that was about it.
As I watched the film unfold, I had the vague impression that I was watching a Pedro Almodovar film, what with the presence of Penelope Cruz, the Spanish setting, and the themes of sexual politics. Of course, with the smartly written dialogue it is still identifiable as a Woody Allen film. However, no matter how good the dialogue is, or even how good the performances are, I would hesitate strongly to call this a good movie. Better than Cassandra's Dream? Definitely, but that is not saying much, being, itself, another film with good performances and some good dialogue.
The title, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, does a good job of giving you the setup in as brief a fashion as possible. The main characters are named Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Johansson), and they spend their time in Barcelona. From there, you will just have to watch the film, as calling the film Vicky Cristina Juan Antonio Maria Elena Barcelona would have just been a little too unwieldy.
Vicky and Cristina go to Barcelona to spend the summer with Vicky's relatives, who agreed to put them up for a couple of months. While the two are there, Vicky begins work on her graduate thesis about Catalan identity, while Cristina intends to have fun and enjoy herself. All is going well until one night at an art exhibit, they have a chance encounter with tortured artist Juan Antonio (Bardem).
Before we get to that meeting, it is important to note the differences between the two women. While they are best friends, they differ in what they look for in relationships, with Vicky being the conservative one and Cristina being a little bit more open-minded and adventurous.
Back to the encounter with Juan Antonio. He invites them on a trip with promises of sights, wine, and sex. Cristina is immediately taken with the artist, while Vicky takes a little more convincing. Eventually (predictably?) both women fall for him, despite Vicky having a fiancee back in New York. This becomes a telling point later when he arrives in Barcelona for an impromptu wedding. This adds a little more to the relationship dynamic, as does the arrival of Juan Antonio's ex-wife, Maria Elena, following a suicide attempt.
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