masterwordsmith-unplugged

During the summer of 1992, I was in Barcelona just two days before the Olympics began. The streets were crowded with babes and hunks and I was just mesmerized and at a total loss as to what I should look at - the architectural wonders of Antoni Gaudi in the form of the Sagrada Familia or the beautiful women or the handsome guys with them or just to immerse myself in the cultural diversity of Spain. Barcelona was my fourth stop after Madrid, Zaragoza and Valencia and I will never forget the surreal feeling of looking at Gaudi's magnificent stone carvings and the Casa Mila. Thus when I came across the movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I watched it hoping to relive those magical moments in that beautiful Spanish town and I was not disappointed at all.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson, and Rebecca Hall.

The plot centers around two American women, Vicky and Cristina, spending a summer in Barcelona, where they meet an artist who is attracted to both of them while still enamored of his mentally and emotionally unstable ex-wife María Elena. The film was shot in Avilés, Barcelona, and Oviedo, and was Allen's fourth consecutive film shot outside of the United States.

The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, then received a rolling worldwide general release that started in August 2008 in the USA, and continued in various countries each month until the June 2009 release in Japan. Penelope Cruz won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in this movie.

Although Vicky Cristina trips along winningly from the start to about 50% of the story, I believe its winning points include the beauty of its locations and stars - and all the gauzy romanticism of those enchanted places and reverberates with implacable melancholy and a sense of loss.

Most of you know I am a hopeless sentimental romantic and I am sure you will forgive me when I say that for all its meditations on romantic disappointments ( I cannot reveal too much), this is a slight, sunny film. Anyone in need of some superior escapism should see it straightaway. Dreamers like me might be disappointed. I wasn't. Not really. At least it addressed certain issues which many films would avoid like the plague!

Vicky Cristina constantly plays America against Europe, security against passion, the need for dependency against the desire to follow artistic and emotional whims. If this sounds programmatic, it isn’t, mostly due to the vibrant performances of the main players. In the liberated corner, Scarlett Johansson breezes by on her unique mix of charm, restlessness and sensuality. In the sensible corner, Allen seems to have channelled his own persona through a female character in Vicky, who is by turns neurotic and open, panicked and longing, trapped between her dull lawyer fiancé and a glimpse of a romantically fulfilled life — Rebecca Hall conveys it all and more.

Frankly, I believe Allen successfully projected the Spanish conquistadors in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The sexy protagonist Bardem imbues his artist with tenderness and virility — he has enough charisma to nail the most resolute nun on a vow of chastity, let alone convince two Yank tourists to come away with him. I think I would have melted like Hall did haha! But this is Cruz’s movie. At the most opportune moment (just when I was wondering where the heck is Penelope Cruz in this movie!) Cruz as Maria Elena blows the entire film apart. She is impetuous (watch her seduce Johansson), touching and introspective, spinning from jubilant peaks to moody lows in a heartbeat and 100 per cent convincing — exactly the kind of thing that walks off with Best Supporting Actress awards.

From a literary and artistic viewpoint, I opine that the film's lack of substance doesn’t matter, because it is a lovely journey into a summer fantasy - and all of us deserve a fantasy of some sort once on a while. - at least I think so ;)!

Woody Allen gives us a city filled with beautiful women, handsome artist types, charming little sweet shops and wonderful restaurants where interesting people talk about art and love, and drink delicious wine, not forgetting the lovely romantic guitar music and the ambiance of alfresco dining. It’s the triumph of lifestyle over life with wonderful vistas and music that is so sublime and romantic!!!!

It also has a wonderful cast. Rebecca Hall moves effortlessly between gawkiness and loveliness, capturing perfectly a woman torn between realism and romance. She’s going to be one of the great British actresses. It is not easy to play a sexy artist without looking like an idiot, but Bardem, with his doleful eyes and soft voice, does it brilliantly and although he is not my type at all, I must say that there were moments in the movie when my knees went weak and not from the way he kisses but more his expressions and those EYES!!! And Cruz’s Maria goes beyond the cliché of the crazy wife; she’s a beautiful monster who is too romantic for love and too artistic for art. I am not a Penelope Cruz fan but I have to admit she gave a stellar performance here.

The weak link is Johansson. Cristina is a cold fish whose character doesn’t seem fully constructed. She’s meant to be open to life, but seems blasé and indifferent to it. Johansson has the look of her character, but never finds the voice. She was much better in other movies and somehow, her performance here pales in comparison to her previous efforts.

Ultimately, in exploring this distended romantic triangle, Allen never comes down on the side of either the dull stability of marriage or the unpredictability of the boho threesome, but his position remains clear. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is another in his persuasive arguments that love, for all the complexities and pain it throws up, is still worth chasing. And along with art, perhaps the only thing worth chasing.

The movie has a nagging question that some would not want to answer - Do you love the one in your life or are you in love with him/her? Is there a difference? What do you think, dear reader? Which is greater?

Whatever your answer, I have to say this - watch Vicky Cristina Barcelona - feast your eyes on the beautiful locales; take an ambivalent look at human relationships and enjoy great performances, especially from Cruz. If you have already watched it, please leave a comment to share your views.

In the mean time, enjoy the following trailer of Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Buenos Dias estimado lector! Viva Espana!