Vicky Cristina Barcelona

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. (22.10.2008)

Only unfulfilled love can be romantic. During the trailer, I anxiously anticipated, at the first reviews unexpectedly attaching the film with the stamp of the funniest movie of the year, he blinked surprised and didn't even breathe during the film. And he cursed the reviews. This comedy is not it, and from my point of view, it doesn't come anywhere close to it. Not that the humor is completely missing, but in several places, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was watching Match Point for the second time - this time written with a much more positive mood. Woody's experimenting should never (if possible) end. Thanks to Spain, everything is intimately familiar and yet brilliantly new. When the uncompromising artist Bardem steps up to the table, a hint of the coming symbolism of partnership can be sensed, but it was only when the fascinating intimacy began to unfold that I realized what a unique work I had come across. Because I didn't see pure romance anymore, Woody probably has his ultra-happy endings definitively behind him. And at the same time, I didn't see a hint of cynicism, just the suppression of idealism and the inevitable acquisition of a certain perspective. Thanks to this, Vicky is enjoyed the most by those romantics who have already been burned. Those sweetly hopeful should rather wait a few more years alongside Hana and her sisters. (31.12.2008)

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. (28.06.2011)

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%. (24.05.2010)

First I fell in love with the poster, and after that, one photo was enough to decide whether to buy it or not. And I did indeed buy it because I know what I like. :) A free translation for those interested in the actual commentary on Vicky Cristina Barcelona reads as follows: I've gotten used to having Scarlett Johansson, who I don’t particularly like, in movies I wouldn't want to miss, so her acting doesn't give me goose bumps as much anymore. I've confirmed many times that I prefer to seek out Penélope Cruz outside of the present in films from any past era, and Javier Bardem impressed me in Goya's Ghosts and Love in the Time of Cholera. The combination of these three actors, however, evoked flawless chemistry in my eyes, and the summer mood imbued with the sexual energy of a love triangle promised exactly the kind of story the film tells. Are you tempted by this? Give in to it. (18.04.2010)

Woody Allen has woven yet another web of relationships in which he has once again trapped a respectable series of sympathetic actors and actresses. Again, it's a very fine viewing experience, aided this time by the (by Allen's standards) exotic setting. From the beginning, Vicky Cristina Barcelona has a very strange momentum that is perhaps not even momentum. The story rather just goes along through sunny Spain, waiting, waiting, waiting... Before the director and screenwriter mixes the character of the excellent Penélope Cruz into the plot and a peaceful scenic drive through the countryside becomes a true rally thanks to her temperament. I give four and a bit mainly for her. (06.08.2014)

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% (03.04.2013)

Woody Allen presenta un pozo sin fondo de ideas, motivos y pensamientos. Todo mérito, a su edad, mantener el listón tan alto como hace veinte, treinta años. En tres de sus últimas cuatro películas, eché de menos a algunos de los personajes principales, pero al pensarlo, en Vicky Cristina Barcelona no pudo haber interpretado ningún personaje. Por lo tanto, se centró completamente en los demás y es una elección perfecta, todos los actores encajan maravillosamente en sus roles, los personajes también están muy bien desarrollados, lo que nos muestra Woody una amplia gama de características, sentimientos y acciones, de los cuales al menos uno o una cada uno de nosotros ha experimentado en carne propia. Es difícil clasificar Vicky Cristina Barcelona en términos de género, cuando pienso en Match Point, me viene a la mente un thriller emocionante, Cassandra's Dream - un drama trágico, Scoop - una comedia clásica de Woody, pero con Vicky Cristina Barcelona vacilo entre una comedia amarga, un análisis triste de las relaciones amorosas y una tragicomedia. Definitivamente me dejó con una sensación muy especial y fortaleció la posición de Woody en mi lista personal de directores, él ocupa el primer lugar y luego, durante mucho, mucho tiempo, no hay nadie más. (07.11.2008)

My next meeting with Woody Allen was very pleasant, I must say. It is thanks to the beautiful environment, because Spain is one of the countries that I dream about. But the main roles also contribute to it. Javier Bardem is perfectly Spanish and magical, which is enhanced by the well-chosen music, but even the narrator's voice. Scarlett Johansson is fine in her role, but what seemed more interesting to me in this story was Vicky, or rather her actress Rebecca Hall. However, all attention is absolutely captured by Penélope Cruz, who is excellent, but I admit that I don't quite understand how this role could have earned her an Oscar. I almost feel like they forgot about her in another movie - maybe because they didn't give her an Oscar for "Volver," she got it for this. In my opinion, everything is dominated by Woody Allen's good screenplay, which has only one flaw - it is, I don't know, it feels unfinished as the best expression. Lots of great ideas, but I just feel like something is missing for it to be perfect, that the story is wonderfully laid out, but when it could have had great twists, an excellent finale, it somehow ended up lost. And yet there could have been so much there. It dealt with a truly great theme - infidelity, but also openness, conservatism, and the possibility of loving multiple people at once. When are we truly fulfilled? When do our lives make sense? And what do we want from life? Is there too much or too little? Are we even capable of achieving happiness, or do we only live to avoid hurting others? Can we actually recognize where our happiness lies? Do we know what we truly want? A beautiful exploration of human lives, which are often comical, sometimes crazy, but still lives that we control ourselves, and it is only up to us how well we will do. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/12/motocyklove-deniky-proposition-v-zajeti.html (02.03.2013)

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. (21.11.2010)