Review of Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) by Dawdlingpoet — 25 Nov 2021

This is quite a slow paced film, one which I'd classify as a romantic drama - a slow paced drama but one none-the-less. I felt the script had some witty dialogue and, indeed, characters. It is shot with quite an orange-y tint to it, in as much as many scenes seem primarily quite orange in colour (I know this probably sounds quite random but its something I noticed very quickly and thought I may as well mention). I imagine this is done to try and emphasise the decent climate and give a sort of tropical feel to the landscape (i.e. Spain). In the background some quite uplifting, jolly latin American style music plays and some soft, lilting stringed instrumentals.

There isn't much in the way of action scenes, as such, although you could say that it contains a 'battle of wits', with Vicky, Christina and Juan trying to (sub-consciously or otherwise) out-wit each other. Some scenes start with narration, as if it were a novel brought to life on screen. I wasn't much impressed with the use of narration, as I felt the narrator (Christopher Evan Welch) was a bit loud and a bit too straight talking, slightly snippy perhaps. Thinking about it, most of what was said was pretty self evident by watching what was going on in the scene anyway, so perhaps narration needn't have been entirely necessary. Thematically speaking, this film covers commitment, sibling rivalry, indecision and summer romances. Cast wise, also present is Rebecca Hall, who plays Vicky and Scarlett Johansson, who plays Christina. Christina is clearly the more adventurous, less bashful sister. I found the relationship between Christina and Vicky interesting I suppose - if I could relate to either of them, it'd be more with Vicky, than Christina. Javier Bardem portrays the love interest, Juan - He seems quite a surefire, suave and sophisticated type. Also present is Penelope Cruz, who plays Juans ex-wife, Maria. She, I felt, was a good choice of actress, as she comes across as quite bolshy and sure-fire, i.e. quite assertive, as she has in other films she's appeared in.

I liked the camerawork used, with some scenes barely ever staying still, even if the characters are just having a quiet discussion, the camera may slowly pan around them and/or slowly zoom in or out. There are some quite pretty shots, such as scenes set in Gaudi's gardens in Barcelona, whereby you can see most of the city landscape from the top.

Content wise, this film contains sex references, some nudity (nothing especially explicit), some strong language and mild violence. It is quite adult in tone, in terms of the genre and themes and isn't a film that would likely be fully understood or appreciated by a particularly young audience. It has been given a 12 rating.

There are some subtitles present, when the ex-wife speaks in Spanish, despite Juan asking her to speak in English but there isn't a massive amount of it, so if subtitles bother you, it may be a little irritating but the subtitles probably account for barely a quarter of the films duration, if that, so its not a big issue I'd say.

I also felt that the ending was quite, shall we say 'convenient' and even a bit cheesy, so that wasn't great but overall I reckon its good enough and I enjoyed watching it. This film is both written and directed by Woody Allen, so I imagine fans of his work will enjoy it.

I quite enjoyed it, thus yes I would recommend it. It features a good cast, some quite witty dialogue, good camerawork and lighting and some pleasant music, making it seem quite atmospheric. The narration was a bit frustrating and it perhaps isn't entirely original, as far as the basic plot is concerned, plus the ending wasn't the best but otherwise its a pretty decent film.