Review of Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) by Maja H — 29 Apr 2011

Directed by Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a romantic drama about a couple of american tourists visiting Spain. One of them thinks she knows exactly what she wants to do with her life (Rebeca Halls), while the other one is in the process of searching that special something (Scarlett Johansson), that is until Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) enters in scene.

While this certainly was an entertaining film, it still left a lot to be desired. The main problem is that the characters are very typical in this kind of stories with european settings: on one side we have the easy american tourists who see europe through dreamy eyes, and on the other side we have the same old romantic womanizer european guy.

Besides having these very typical characters, the way their relationship develops is just not very realistic, wich normally wouldn't be a problem because I don't watch films to get in touch with reality, but to get out of it, but it all depends on the rules the movie sets. Since the film's overall appeal lies in the relationships, then there is a problem when you just can't believe the characters' actions or motivations.

Another problem lies in the way the plot moves forward. Sometimes it just seems forced, for example, there are moments in wich Allen tries too hard to make Bardem's character appear as the charming irresistible mysterious spanish guy.

At the end of it all it's still an entertaining movie, one that will keep you interested until the end, just don't expect something extraordinary or original because you'll get disappointed.