Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a film by director Woody Allen whom I have started to admire a lot off late for his extra ordinary work of art. This film is about Vicky (Rebecca Hall) Cristina (Scarlett Johansson)and how they spend their summer in the beautiful city of Barcelona. Going by the trend in Woody Allen's last four films this movie too has been shot outside America in the wonderful locales of Avilés, Barcelona, and Oviedo. The plot centres around Vicky and Cristina who have two very different approaches to love. Vicky is more traditional and is engaged to be married. Cristina on the other hand is on a path of self destruction and in her own words "she doesnt know what she wants but she definately knows what she doesnt want in her life".
Both women get attracted to a painter Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) who is attracted to both of them while still enamored of his mentally and emotionally unstable ex-wife María Elena played by Penélope Cruz.Vicky and Cristina end their summer vacation in Barcelona where they began and life does a full circle. The story revolves around these four characters and talks largely about love and relationships tied togather in a very intriguing manner.
At the end of the movie the viewer is suffused with gloom and desperation. There is high amount of ambiguity about the movie but there is Woody Allen style method to the madness. Every scene is visually beautiful, every word spoken by each character has deep meaning to it and more importantly the movie goes at a very relaxed pace which makes the movie an excellent choice for leisure viewing. Woody Allen has redefined romance and relationships(in good way or bad is anybody's guess) and as is the case with every great movie it makes you think and think deeper.
I must mention one more important point here, I really fell in love with the performances of all the actors in the movie and I would like to mention about two actors in particular. One for sure is Penélope Cruz who is par excellence in her role of an emotionally unstable wife of a painter. She has done an incredible job and her confidence in herself is impeccable. She has matured as an actor and has compensated her difficulties with speaking English with her acting.
The other performance I enjoyed thoroughly was Juan Antonio played by Javier Barder. This hunk is super cool and a best fit for the role. He has got that charisma and panache about him which is the high point of the movie. What's it with these Spanish actors?? I instantaneously fall prey to their twisted accents and their over the top mannerisms. Its a must watch for everybody and its now one of my favourite movies of all time.
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