Directed by:
Woody AllenScreenplay:
Woody AllenCinematography:
Javier AguirresarobeCast:
Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Evan Welch, Rebecca Hall, Penélope Cruz, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson, Carrie Preston, Kevin Dunn (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
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. (official distributor synopsis)
Videos (2)
Reviews (9)
A living classic set off to warm his bones under the Catalonian sun to make his old-man’s wet dream come true. And because he’s no jerk, he eagerly shares full screen footage of Scarlett’s nipples (*glurp*), Penelope’s butt (yum!), Rebecca’s thighs and Bardem’s five o’clock shadow (wowie) with the public... Oh but, no, no, that neurotic miser only shares the thighs and the five o’clock shadow. But really, in places it’s so hot that, despite it being the beginning of a damp and drizzly fall, I recommend you wear summer clothes when you watch this. This applies mainly for those who can boast chromosome Y in their genetic makeup. And how Bardem organizes his household is priceless. But it wouldn’t be a Woody Allen movie of past years without one big “but". A kind of nothing intro. It’s just too sleepy summer like. It requires María Elena to plunge in and save the movie. Personally I was also upset that the two best characters (Juan’s father and María Elena) are criminally kept in the background. Overall, no miracle to be penned into the master’s filmography in gold lettering, but excellent as relaxing summer entertainment.
()
Actually, the Spanish atmosphere definitely saved the film. The screenplay is quite interesting, but on the other hand an "Italian relationship" is also nothing new. What's much more original is that they get a beautiful blonde girl involved. And instead of their relationship falling apart, it balances it out. The beautiful blonde is a great actress, by the way! Oh, and to make matters worse, we have the ordinary Vicky, who doesn't actually do anything throughout the film. A film you only have to see once. 3.5 stars.
()
In his old age, Woody Allen somehow caught a new artistic vibe and can surprise with at least every other film he churns out at a machine gun pace. After his film Match Point, this is the second film I've seen in a short time where I had a hard time finding his typical style. For a long time, essentially for the entire first half of the film, I couldn't immerse myself in it, but with every passing minute, this Boccaccio-esque tangle of relationships and love passions got to me more and more. Unlike his older comedies, Allen reduced his typical dialogue banter, omitted the character of a neurotic intellectual, and focused on a group of people who have problems with their emotions and long for something that is currently out of their reach. The infidelities, seductions, rejections, and sufferings are presented convincingly and have charm, especially when they form a remarkable polygon. It may not be the pinnacle of Allen's work, but Vicky Cristina Barcelona definitely belongs to the better things he has created. Overall impression: 80%.
()
Allen is still in top form, writing great scripts like a treadmill and breathing such charm into them as no one else could. Though it's true that here the central female trio contributes a lot to the charm, with one actress being more attractive (and better) than the other – and I was downright envious of Javier Bardem's role. It's not a romantic gem and it gets a bit lost in the flood of Allen's films, but it's still a more than pleasant summer diversion spiced up with excellent actors and the traditionally playful direction of one of the most legendary filmmakers of our time. Besides, there's something really magical about Barcelona, and it's not the Nou Camp...:-) 80%
()
Woody Allen, even at his rather advanced age, is incredibly funny, a brilliantly wry observer and storyteller who ingeniously hides his ironic messages underneath the charming, sens(eless)ual beauty of summertime Barcelona. The characters of the two (gorgeous) leads are at first glance more than a little different, but as their characters are put into situations in which they are more and more "tested" as the narrative progresses, the initial scattergun approach then completely disappears and the individual attributes of their characters overlap and merge. Vicky Cristina Barcelona can hardly be described as a romantic genre film because there is so much hidden under that attractive skin that would be worthy of several stacks of psychological, philosophical, or social studies, none of which would come to anything definite anyway. However, the way Woody Allen presents his views on relationships, family life, or morality is fantastic.
()
Ads