Vicky Cristina Barcelona
| Vicky Cristina Barcelona | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Woody Allen |
| Produced by | Letty Aronson Jaume Roures Stephen Tenenbaum Gareth Wiley |
| Written by | Woody Allen |
| Starring | Scarlett Johansson Penélope Cruz Javier Bardem Rebecca Hall |
| Cinematography | Javier Aguirresarobe |
| Editing by | Alisa Lepselter |
| Distributed by | The Weinstein Company Optimum Releasing[1] |
| Release date(s) | August 15, 2008 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Country | United States Spain |
| Language | English, Spanish |
| Budget | €15 million[2] |
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 film written and directed by Woody Allen, and his fourth film in a row shot outside the United States. The plot centers around two American women, Vicky and Cristina, vacationing in Barcelona, Spain. There, the women meet an artist, who is attracted to both yet still enamored of his unstable ex-wife. The film was shot in Avilés, Barcelona and Oviedo.
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 a release scheduled for the UK and Argentina in February 2009.[3]
Contents |
Main cast
- Scarlett Johansson - Cristina
- Rebecca Hall - Vicky, Cristina's friend
- Javier Bardem - Juan Antonio, an artist
- Penélope Cruz - María Elena, an artist and Juan Antonio's ex-wife
- Chris Messina - Doug
- Patricia Clarkson - Judy Nash, Vicky's relative
- Kevin Dunn - Mark Nash, Judy's husband
The Catalan actor Joan Pera, who has dubbed Allen's voice in his previous films, makes a cameo appearance.[4]
This is the third film that Johansson and Allen have worked on together, after Match Point and Scoop.
Plot
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The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (November 2008) |
Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) visit Barcelona for the summer, staying with Vicky's distant relative Judy (Patricia Clarkson) and her husband, Mark Nash (Kevin Dunn). A Narrator (voice of Christopher Evan Welch), present throughout the film, describes the two friends: Vicky is practical and traditional in her approach to love and commitment, and is engaged to the reliable but unromantic Doug (Chris Messina). She is in Barcelona getting her masters in "Catalan identity." Cristina, on the other hand, is a nonconformist, spontaneous but unsure of what she wants from life or love.
At an art exhibition, they notice the artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Cristina is impressed with him at first sight, and grows intrigued when Judy and Mark tell the girls that the artist has suffered a publicly violent relationship with his ex-wife. Later that night, the girls notice him across the room in a restaurant. He approaches their table and quickly invites them to fly with him to the city of Oviedo, spending a weekend sight-seeing, drinking wine, and Juan Antonio hopes, making love. Cristina accepts the brazen offer almost at once, but Vicky refuses, strongly resenting his assumtion that the two of them would agree to go to bed with him after less than five minutes' aquintance. She eventually decides to accompany her friend anyway, mainly as she says "to protect Cristina from making a big mistake".
At the end of their first day, Juan Antonio asks both women to come to his room. Vicky refuses, but Cristina agrees, though she falls ill before any love making happens. For the remainder of the weekend, Vicky and Juan Antonio are forced together while Cristina recuperates. During their trip, he tells her about his ex-wife and his tumultuous relationship with her, making Vicky change her negative first impression of him. After more wine over dinner and an intimate guitar concert, Vicky succumbs to his charms and the two make love.
The next day, Juan takes them back to Barcelona. Vicky, feeling guilty, does not mention the incident to Cristina, and the two begin to grow apart, Vicky throwing herself into her Catalan culture studies and Cristina taking up photography. Soon Juan Antonio is dating Cristina. Meanwhile, Doug unexpectedly telephones Vicky, suggesting that they get married in Spain. She agrees, with unspoken misgivings, and he flies to meet her. Cristina and Juan Antonio grow closer and move in together.
One night, Cristina and Juan Antonio are woken up by a call, learning that María Elena has attempted to kill herself. With nowhere else to go, Juan Antonio brings her home, and she moves into the guest room. Though initially María Elena distrusts Cristina, she soon develops a fondness for her and her photography.
Cristina soon realizes that the ex-spouses are still in love, and María Elena confides that their relationship was always loving but unstable because they were missing something, a mystery element neither of them figured out. María Elena now suggests that the missing link is in fact, Cristina, and the three become polyamorous. Cristina discloses the events of her life to Vicky, who appears secretly jealous of her friend's relationship with Juan Antonio, and to Doug, who disapproves.
As the summer winds to a close, Vicky realizes that she is unsatisfied in her married life, and is still attracted to Juan Antonio. She learns that Judy is also unhappy in her marriage, and confides in the older woman. Judy, who sees Vicky as a younger version of herself, decides to bring Juan Antonio and Vicky together. Meanwhile, Cristina becomes restless and announces she is leaving Juan Antonio and María Elena. Maria does not take the news well and breaks down. Cristina spends the last weeks of the summer in France. With their "missing link" gone, Juan Antonio and María Elena break up again.
Attempting to pair up Juan Antonio and Vicky, Judy arranges for them both to be at a party. Juan Antonio begs Vicky to meet him the next day. After lying to Doug, Vicky, against her better judgment, goes to Juan's home for lunch, after which Juan tries to seduce her again. She is on the point of consenting when María Elena bursts in with a gun and begins firing wildly. As Juan Antonio tries to take the gun from his sobbing wife, Vicky is accidentally shot in the hand, wounding her slightly. Vicky shouts at both of them, saying they are insane and she could never live like this, and leaves.
When Cristina returns from France, Vicky confesses the entire story to her. Cristina says she never knew that Vicky felt that way about Juan Antonio, and she (Cristina) wishes she could have helped her. Doug never learns the true version of events. As the three Americans return to the USA, Vicky goes back to her married life and Cristina remains where she started, not knowing what she wants, but knowing what she doesn't. Since Vicky chooses to live her rigidly planned, "perfect" life, and Cristina chooses to live without making predetermined plans, they end where they began.
Production
In 2007, controversy arose in Catalonia because the film was partially funded with public money: Barcelona's city hall provided one million euros and the Generalitat of Catalonia (Catalan Autonomous Government) half a million, or ten percent of the film's budget.[2]
In August 2008, Allen wrote a humorous version of a production diary, with entries such as:[5]
- Jan. 2 — Received offer to write and direct film in Barcelona. Must be cautious. Spain is sunny, and I freckle. Money not great either, but agent did manage to get me a 10th of 1 percent of anything the picture does over $400 million after break even.
- June 1 — Arrived Barcelona. Accommodations first class. Hotel has been promised half star next year provided they install running water.
- June 30 — Dailies are looking good, and while Javier’s idea to add a massive Martian invasion scene complete with a thousand costumed extras and elaborate flying saucers is not a very good one, I will shoot it to make him happy and cut it in the editing room.
- Aug. 25 — End production today. Wrap party as usual a little sad. Slow danced with Scarlett. Broke her toe. Not my fault. When she dipped me back, I stepped on it....Everyone in cast and crew chipped in and bought me a ballpoint pen.
Reception
Vicky Cristina Barcelona garnered the best reviews Allen had received since his Oscar-nominated 2005 film Match Point. At the time of release it had an 80 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes[6] Scott Tobias wrote in the Onion AV club that it was "a witty and ambiguous movie that's simultaneously intoxicating and suffused with sadness and doubt"[7]. Richard Roeper suggested that Cruz should receive an Academy Award nomination for her role.[8] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle praised the film as "the work of a confident and mature artist" (Allen).[9] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote "Although Vicky Cristina trips along winningly, carried by the beauty of its locations and stars — and all the gauzy romanticism those enchanted places and people imply — it reverberates with implacable melancholy, a sense of loss."[10] Richard Corliss ended his review of the film with "The movie has neither the sardonic heft of Max Ophüls' La Ronde nor the emotional precision of Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night, two films that also dance the change-partners gavotte. But Vicky Cristina Barcelona is so engaging so much of the time that it feels like a modest rejuvenation: evidence that a summer in Spain can do wonders for a writer-director who may not have outlived his prime."[11]
Not all the reviews were positive. James Berardinelli, writing for ReelViews said "[Allen] has slipped back into the sinkhole of mediocrity",[12] Kenneth Turan wrote "that despite promising elements, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is too intent on being taken seriously to be more than mildly diverting"; he says the film's narration becomes tedious, "Bardem's performance is so good it tends to mask how lacking much of what surrounds it is", and the film overall is "indifferently directed."[13]
As of November 2008, Box Office Mojo reports the film has grossed $58.3 million worldwide, in relation to its $20 million budget, making it one of Allen's more profitable films.[14]
References
- ^ Vicky Cristina Barcelona Sky Gala from the London Film Festival website
- ^ a b "Allen film funding angers Spanish", BBC News (2007-07-30).
- ^ Release dates for Vicky Cristina Barcelona from the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Woody Allen rewards Spanish alter ego with role in new film, an April 12, 2007 article from The Times of London
- ^ Excerpts From the Spanish Diary by Woody Allen, a humorous production diary published August 2008 in The New York Times
- ^ "Vicky Cristina Barcelona Movie Reviews". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved on August 15, 2008.
- ^ "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Onion AV Club. Retrieved on August 15, 2008.
- ^ "Ebert & Roeper - Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Buena Vista TV. Retrieved on August 15, 2008.
- ^ Mick LaSalle (August 15, 2008). "Movie review: 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ The Portrait of Two Ladies, a review from The New York Times
- ^ Woody Allen's Barcelona Summer of Love, from Time magazine
- ^ "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". ReelViews.net. Retrieved on August 15, 2008.
- ^ Review of the film by Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times
- ^ Vicky Cristina Barcelona at Box Office Mojo
External links
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