I had no idea what to expect from this movie as I rarely watch Woody Allen films. Nothing against him personally but I just haven’t been too attracted to the kind of movies that he makes. But I really wanted to watch this one and Vicky Cristina Barcelona was an interesting movie to watch.
For one, I don’t know what to think of Javier Bardem but the bugger gets to make out with Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall & Scarlett Johansson! Oh to be in his shoes! But I hate this poster – Hall is not shown in it but she is shining light of this likeable movie. Rebecca Hall might be the lesser known among the main actors – Cruz, Johansson, Bardem and Patricia Clarkson (who plays Vicky’s aunt) but I thought she was great in the movie. Hall plays a graduate student who has a plan about the way her love & life is supposed to pan out. She is more conservative and less likely to take a chance. Her best friend is Johansson, playing Cristina, a much more liberated soul but one who does not know where she is headed in life.
But Penelope Cruz was magnificent as a mentally unstable woman, who attempted suicide. Quickfire angry Spanish words spew from her mouth in a demented form of lament as she confronts her lover. She & her ex-husband Juan Antonia (Bardem) had earlier up finding the missing ingredient in their love life to be Cristina and they begin a polyamorous relationship. Vicky had a one night with the charming Juan Antonio and has feelings for him while caught in an unsatisfying marriage.
I found the movie dragging in parts but maybe the film wasn’t meant for late night watching. I loved the location shots in Spain, mainly Barcelona & Oviedo. I loved the three oh so sexy women. I loved the sprinklings of flamenco guitar music but found the theme music to be a bit annoying. It wasn’t necessary to have the title song with repetitions of “Barcelona” every 20 seconds. Overall, I liked the movie although I doubt I’d be watching it many more times.
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