2024 Entry #026 “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Javier Bardem (“Not Love, Just Frenzy”, “Second Skin”, “Before Night Falls”, “Skyfall”), Penélope Cruz (“Not Love, Just Frenzy”, “Head in the Clouds”, “Sex and the City 2”), Rebecca Hall (“Dorian Gray”) and Scarlett Johansson (“The Black Dahlia”, “Avengers: Endgame”) in lead roles. The plot centers on two American women, Vicky (Hall) and Cristina (Johansson), who spend a summer in Barcelona, where they meet an artist, Juan Antonio (Bardem), who is attracted to both of them, while still enamored of his mentally and emotionally unstable ex-wife María Elena (Cruz). The film was shot in Spain in Barcelona, Avilés, and Oviedo, and was Allen’s fourth consecutive film shot outside the United States.
I don’t generally enjoy Woody Allen movies. There are actually quite a few celebrated directors that I don’t enjoy. Examples: I mostly dislike the works of Brian De Palma (as I mentioned a few weeks ago) & Stanley Kubrick, and I think that most of Steven Spielberg’s films feel too “plastic” to be truly effective, though there are a few exceptions. Woody Allen is the same for me. I’ve not seen a lot of his work, but what I have seen, I haven’t loved or cared to revisit. It doesn’t help that he married his partner’s adopted daughter (which I have always found creepy) or that later evidence convinced me that he’s a pedophile – and I highly recommend watching Kirby Dick’s and Amy Ziering’s four-part documentary “Allen v. Farrow”. So why would I want to watch his work? That’s a fair question, and all I can say is that I’ve heard about this movie for years and I wanted to see it. I heard that it was inclusive. I love the cast. And a couple of years ago, I spent a few days in Barcelona, where the film is set. I have also previously reviewed films from convicted criminals and others whose views are directly opposed to mine. Sometimes I can pay more attention to the art than the artist, and other times I can’t. And I can’t explain why that is because I honestly don’t know. For instance, I have no problem re-watching the Wizarding World movies despite J.K. Rowling being a transphobe, yet I find the idea of re-reading her books (even though I already own them) difficult – and maybe that will change, or maybe it won’t. I just go with what my conscience will allow.
But what did I think of the movie? I liked it. I actually really liked it. I thought Scarlett Johansson’s performance was a little weak, but not horrible. I thought everyone else was fantastic. There were many times that I recognized different locations that I’d been to on my Barcelona trip, which was fun for me. And I honestly felt that while some of the situations seemed a little over the top, that the basic messages of the film were worth exploring and were honest in a way that over the top stories often aren’t. The inclusiveness involves Cristina forming a 3 way relationship with both Juan Antonio and María Elena, with the former spouses both finding value in featuring a third partner – both believing that Cristina is the ingredient that they lacked when they used to be a couple. I’ve known people who have experienced this. I’ve been involved with people experiencing this. And this is something that I’ve seldom if ever seen explored on screen. So that was one aspect I really enjoyed. But overall, while there was drama, I just liked that the movie was fun. The movie is light, while also exploring other facets of relationships that many will likely relate to. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece or anything, but it was a good time. And that’s far more than what I was expecting.