Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) (Film Review)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Review written on 17. June 2021 by Biboz

Oh No ! didn’t remember much about this film. That was already a bad sign. I remember it being boring when I saw it at the cinema… but not that boring! On the acting front, it’s pretty much perfection: Scarlett Johansson, always at the top of her game. She immediately had all the qualities of a great actress. Penélope Cruz, as funny as you could wish for, somewhere between Spanish and American humour. Javier Bardem, charming and irresistible. Nice and funny! Rebecca Hall, another one of my favourite actresses, with some ultra-accurate performances.

So… what’s the problem? Well… everything else! The story could have been gripping, but it quickly descended into tedium. In the end, even if Penélope Cruz is great… what makes her laugh goes round and round… and the shortest laughs are the best. One of the film’s best moments is when Javier Bardem accosts the two lead actresses. Of course, the scene near the end with the gun is mythical… but it’s only scenes that can be listed and counted on the fingers of one hand that make up the film’s good moments. If only they’d made a good film!

In Woody Allen’s work, we sense the difficulties that love represents. Just like in Match Point, a character finds herself married to someone she doesn’t really love, or convinces herself that at least the husband is a good person… at the risk of letting go, of letting the perfect passionate love slip away.

Here are three other reviews that say it all:

1) Fun girl movie 1st dream: to have her own farm, 2nd dream: after finishing art school, to have a torrid affair with a Southerner, 3rd dream: 3rd dream: to yyyaaawwwnnn… What a cliché!

2) Well After all these good reviews, I bought the movie. But I’m very disappointed.93 minutes of boredom! You always know what’s going to happen and the ending is ridiculous. Atmosphere, images, everything’s great, but story: 2/10.If you’ve got nothing better to do, watch it once and throw it in the bucket!

3) Shallow waters. I’m an enthusiastic Woody Allen fan, but VCB is a million miles from Allen’s genius in my eyes. I’ve read and heard so much good about this film, but somehow, nothing has come of it. if I were to classify the film, however, it would get a gigantic “women’s film” stamp. this 3-cornered report leaves me cold. Woody Allen’s bite is completely absent. the film is certainly set in beautiful surroundings and with beautiful women, but the plot, which is already yawn-inducing, is quickly badly executed. conclusion: the most superficial Woody Allen film in years. the clichéd images of a powerful southerner lack irony. very good actors, but they don’t save the film.

My Rating