I have just watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona for the 4th time. Yes, I am that free to watch the film again but actually the film itself is quite good and the more I watch it, the more I understand the ‘dark humour’ genre that director, Woody Allen is famous for. The 2008 film stars Scarlet Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Quite a star studded cast and as expected, performed well in the film.
I particularly liked Rebecca Hall who plays Vicky in the film. She is an English actress but takes on the role of an American girl who is sure about her life till her trip to Barcelona. She prefers to be with someone in a stable relationship and strong commitment. In the film, she is engaged to a businessman, Doug. She can pull off the American accent and delivers a performance that is good in the film. Since she is portraying a normal girl in everyday, I guess you don’t need much other than being natural. I have seen her in Dorian Gray, and in comparison, I do see a difference in the characters she portrays so, kudos to her.
Cristina on the other hand, played by Scarlet Johansson, is more of an artsy soul who seeks more adventurous romance. Quoted from the movie, she has reluctantly accepted that pain is a part of passion and that she is willing to accept it for love. She doesn’t know what she wants in love, only what she doesn’t want. I think that the roles that Scarlet chooses are normally in the same line, I saw her in Match Point, another Woody Allen film, so I couldn’t make a comparison. I had a friend said that she always looks moody and pretentious, with an artsy soul in her characters. I don’t see much diversity in her, so maybe she is.
One night, they met Juan Antonio, an artist played by Javier Bardem who invites them to Oviedo for the weekend. It is from that fateful weekend that Vicky and Cristina’s lives take a turn. Javier Bardem was exceptional in this one; he portrays a romantic who tries to live life to the fullest. He always says that life is short and that we must enjoy it. He is contend with life but has a troubled divorce with Penelope Cruz’s character Marie Elena. She is a gifted artist who is also eccentric. As he said, they were meant for each other and not meant for each other. They often had arguments and fights which eventually lead to a violent divorce. Penelope Cruz was also very good in this film. In fact, I think she won an Academy and BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress and nominated in the same category in the Golden Globe.
Obviously, the setting of the film is in Barcelona, Aviles and Oviedo. I was so captivated by the charming places shown in the film. And like Cristina, I really liked the Spanish guitars and the places the little performances were held. In one scene, after dinner, Vicky and Antonio went to watch a man perform under a gazebo. He was sitting in the centre and was surrounded by his audience. Vines were hanging off the pillars and it was just so nice and romantic with the music playing softly in the air. The film also showed a lot of art and paintings which gave me idea that Spain is a beautiful place full of art and culture which I would love to immerse myself in. The weather shown is always sunny or windy where I can ride a bike beside vineyards or drink some coffee in a Spanish garden and capture my surroundings in paper. Then with the warm balmy nights, (I love how they describe their nights, ‘warm and balmy’)I can enjoy some wine and calming Spanish music. It’s very alluring and charming, the way Woody Allen showed a summer in Barcelona to us, and I really wanna travel there someday, thanks to this film!
Needless to say the actors are brilliant, the story about love and human relationships is ambiguous and interesting and the setting is captivating. The film has garnered a lot of excellent reviews so there is simply no reason to not watch the film!! Enjoy!
Check out the trailer here! Dont be mislead by the promiscuity of the trailer, i dont know why they wanna show it that way which just ruins a great film.
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