Vicky Cristina Barcelona(2008)

This movie is written and directed by Woody Allen. Most people either love him or hate him. I have always been a fan of his movies. I just picked this one up recently and decided to see what I think of his latest offering. This movie won a Golden Globe for Best Musical/Comedy Picture.

It begins with two friends, Vicky(Rebecca Hall) and Cristina(Scarlett Johansson) who arrive in Barcelona for a two-month holiday. They are staying with Vicky's relative Judy(Patricia Clarkson) and her husband Mark(Kevin Dunn). Vicky is the down-to-earth one and she is engaged to be married. Cristina is flighty and she doesn't want commitment. They are two very different people but they manage to get along well. One evening they are out to dinner and they see an artist who was at an exhibition earlier that evening. Cristina thinks that he is sexy and she tries to make eye contact with him. He comes over to the girls and asks them to go to Oviedo(a city nearby) for the weekend. Vicky is horrified but Cristina is delighted. She drags Vicky along with her and the artist whose name is Juan Antonio(Javier Bardem).

They arrive in the city and they go sightseeing. That evening, he asks the two girls to come up to his room in the hotel where they are all staying. Vicky declines, but Cristina obliges. She is sick, though and they don't get very far that night. The next day, Cristina is very ill and the doctor tells her that she has to stay in bed for a couple of days. That leaves Vicky and Juan to themselves. Juan takes Vicky sightseeing and they go to dinner. At the end of the night, they kiss and end up in bed together. The next day, Juan calls Cristina and invites her out leaving Vicky annoyed. Cristina and Juan sleep together and they move in together quite fast. He tells her about his ex-wife, Maria Elena(Penelope Cruz) who tried to kill him.

One night, Juan gets a call from the hospital to say that his ex-wife tried to kill herself and he goes to collect her and she moves in with the couple. Cristina, Juan and Maria Elena become lovers. Meanwhile, Vicky gets married to her fiancee, Doug(Chris Messina) and tries to forget Juan. She is bored by her life with Doug, but she can't do anything about it. Cristina eventually decides that she has had enough of living with Juan and Maria Elena and she decides to leave and go to France for a while to get her head sorted. Juan and his ex-wife fall apart again and Maria Elena leaves. Vicky meets Juan at a party a while later and they talk. She tells him that she isn't going to leave her husband for him, no matter how much she might want to. He asks her to meet him the next day and she does. He brings her to his home and they chat. Suddenly, Maria Elena bursts in with a gun and tries to kill Juan, injuring Vicky in the process. She decides that she can't have anything more to do with Juan and she walks away.


The film ends with the two women going back to America, deciding to be happy with what they have. This movie is entertaining and there is enough to keep you watching. I would give it a 7/10. It's light watching and is a must for anyone who likes Woody Allen's movies. If you are not a fan of his, then this might not be for you!