Rama’s SCREEN

I haven’t liked Woody Allen’s movies in quite some time maybe because he’s been trying to handle themes of crime misdemeanors instead of going with what made him cool back in the day which was dealing with relationships and the humor aspect of it all. VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA is… Woody Allen returning to his game. This is definitely one of my favorite films this year. It’s funny in a way that it makes you slightly embarrassed in a good way because either the characters remind you of someone you know, situations you may have encountered or that the dialogue is so bold and daring, you find yourself let loose and easy to give in to the temptations.

Two young American women, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) come to Barcelona for a summer holiday. Vicky is sensible and engaged to be married; Cristina is emotionally and sexually adventurous. In Barcelona, they’re drawn into a series of unconventional romantic entanglements with Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a charismatic painter, who is still involved with his tempestuous ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz). Set against the luscious Mediterranean sensuality of Barcelona

Let me give you a heads up, those of us who are expecting Scarlett Johansson to show some and actually engage in full on screen threesome with Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem might get disappointed because despite the fact that there are sex scenes and lesbian moments, everything is mostly suggestive, in other words, they’re a tease.
Most of the shots are up close, on the actors’ faces but I think Woody Allen as a director has approached this whole thing with taste and art. Now he won’t have to worry about the possibility of being labeled as an old perv.

The Decision to put the story in the beautiful land of Spain and especially Barcelona is a brilliant move by Woody Allen. The movie celebrates what the city has to offer, the wine, the music, the guitar, the art, the beautiful scenery, it’s very refreshing and carefree. The City of Barcelona should thank this movie for the free advertising.

Of all the performances, I think Penelope Cruz is the one that stands out. Javier Bardem does a good job of making us forget that he was once a creepy bad guy in No Country for Old Men, but Penelope has never really been an actress that I vouch for even after the movie Volver, but the way she carries her character in this movie is downright impressive. I can’t keep my eyes off of her every time her presence enters the screen, with such commanding power. She’s like a fire that you know you shouldn’t touch cause you might get burn, but you’re so in awe, you keep staring at her and walking closer and closer. She’s excellent as the ex-wife with mood swings. if it were up to me, I’d give her a best supporting Nomination

The story is what’s entertaining about this movie, writer/director Woody Allen successfully brings us the funny and profound take on psychological and philosophical consequences of sex and the meaning of being in a relationship. The story says that ‘Unfulfilled Love is the Most Romantic Kind’. It may be the most romantic kind but being unfulfilled will not get you through the day cause you’ll never be happy and you’ll always be looking back for the rest of your life.

And it’s obvious from the interaction between the characters Vicky, Cristina, Juan Antonio and Elena that being in an ‘unfulfilled’ relationship will eventually cause only madness and dissatisfaction. You keep trying to make an excuse by telling yourself that if you do this then things might be all right, things could still go on like normal, you have an open mind anyway,,.. but the fact is it won’t be normal, it would be nothing short of insane, somebody would get hurt in the process. Don’t go chasing waterfalls.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film