Vicky Cristina Barcelona

In his old age, Woody Allen somehow caught a new artistic vibe and can surprise with at least every other film he churns out at a machine gun pace. After his film Match Point, this is the second film I've seen in a short time where I had a hard time finding his typical style. For a long time, essentially for the entire first half of the film, I couldn't immerse myself in it, but with every passing minute, this Boccaccio-esque tangle of relationships and love passions got to me more and more. Unlike his older comedies, Allen reduced his typical dialogue banter, omitted the character of a neurotic intellectual, and focused on a group of people who have problems with their emotions and long for something that is currently out of their reach. The infidelities, seductions, rejections, and sufferings are presented convincingly and have charm, especially when they form a remarkable polygon. It may not be the pinnacle of Allen's work, but Vicky Cristina Barcelona definitely belongs to the better things he has created. Overall impression: 80%. (05/24/2010)

Woody Allen has woven yet another web of relationships in which he has once again trapped a respectable series of sympathetic actors and actresses. Again, it's a very fine viewing experience, aided this time by the (by Allen's standards) exotic setting. From the beginning, Vicky Cristina Barcelona has a very strange momentum that is perhaps not even momentum. The story rather just goes along through sunny Spain, waiting, waiting, waiting... Before the director and screenwriter mixes the character of the excellent Penélope Cruz into the plot and a peaceful scenic drive through the countryside becomes a true rally thanks to her temperament. I give four and a bit mainly for her. (08/06/2014)

My next meeting with Woody Allen was very pleasant, I must say. It is thanks to the beautiful environment, because Spain is one of the countries that I dream about. But the main roles also contribute to it. Javier Bardem is perfectly Spanish and magical, which is enhanced by the well-chosen music, but even the narrator's voice. Scarlett Johansson is fine in her role, but what seemed more interesting to me in this story was Vicky, or rather her actress Rebecca Hall. However, all attention is absolutely captured by Penélope Cruz, who is excellent, but I admit that I don't quite understand how this role could have earned her an Oscar. I almost feel like they forgot about her in another movie - maybe because they didn't give her an Oscar for "Volver," she got it for this. In my opinion, everything is dominated by Woody Allen's good screenplay, which has only one flaw - it is, I don't know, it feels unfinished as the best expression. Lots of great ideas, but I just feel like something is missing for it to be perfect, that the story is wonderfully laid out, but when it could have had great twists, an excellent finale, it somehow ended up lost. And yet there could have been so much there. It dealt with a truly great theme - infidelity, but also openness, conservatism, and the possibility of loving multiple people at once. When are we truly fulfilled? When do our lives make sense? And what do we want from life? Is there too much or too little? Are we even capable of achieving happiness, or do we only live to avoid hurting others? Can we actually recognize where our happiness lies? Do we know what we truly want? A beautiful exploration of human lives, which are often comical, sometimes crazy, but still lives that we control ourselves, and it is only up to us how well we will do. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/12/motocyklove-deniky-proposition-v-zajeti.html (03/02/2013)

A living classic set off to warm his bones under the Catalonian sun to make his old-man’s wet dream come true. And because he’s no jerk, he eagerly shares full screen footage of Scarlett’s nipples (*glurp*), Penelope’s butt (yum!), Rebecca’s thighs and Bardem’s five o’clock shadow (wowie) with the public... Oh but, no, no, that neurotic miser only shares the thighs and the five o’clock shadow. But really, in places it’s so hot that, despite it being the beginning of a damp and drizzly fall, I recommend you wear summer clothes when you watch this. This applies mainly for those who can boast chromosome Y in their genetic makeup. And how Bardem organizes his household is priceless. But it wouldn’t be a Woody Allen movie of past years without one big “but". A kind of nothing intro. It’s just too sleepy summer like. It requires María Elena to plunge in and save the movie. Personally I was also upset that the two best characters (Juan’s father and María Elena) are criminally kept in the background. Overall, no miracle to be penned into the master’s filmography in gold lettering, but excellent as relaxing summer entertainment. (10/22/2008)

Allen is still in top form, writing great scripts like a treadmill and breathing such charm into them as no one else could. Though it's true that here the central female trio contributes a lot to the charm, with one actress being more attractive (and better) than the other – and I was downright envious of Javier Bardem's role. It's not a romantic gem and it gets a bit lost in the flood of Allen's films, but it's still a more than pleasant summer diversion spiced up with excellent actors and the traditionally playful direction of one of the most legendary filmmakers of our time. Besides, there's something really magical about Barcelona, and it's not the Nou Camp...:-) 80% (04/03/2013)