Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

15 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Life is the ultimate work of art

Plot:

Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.

Plot Keywords:

Summer | Painter | Ex Wife | Artist | Marriage

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 19 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

Rebecca Hall	...	Vicky
Scarlett Johansson	...	Cristina
Chris Messina	...	Doug
Patricia Clarkson	...	Judy Nash
Christopher Evan Welch	...	Narrator (voice)
Kevin Dunn	...	Mark Nash
Julio Perillán	...	Charles
Juan Quesada	...	Guitarist in Barcelona
Richard Salom	...	Art Gallery Guest #1
Maurice Sonnenberg	...	Art Gallery Guest #2
Javier Bardem	...	Juan Antonio Gonzalo
Manel Barceló	...	Doctor
Josep Maria Domènech	...	Julio Josep
Emilio de Benito	...	Guitarist in Asturias
Jaume Montané	...	Juan Antonio's Friend #1

Also Known As:

Midnight in Barcelona (Spain) (working title)
Woody Allen Spanish Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexuality, and smoking.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Spain | USA

Language:

English | Catalan | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Mono)

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44252) | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Sweden:7 | Australia:M | Hong Kong:IIB | Brazil:12 | Ireland:15A | New Zealand:M | South Africa:13LS | UK:12A | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Netherlands:6 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | Iceland:L | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Avilés, Asturias, Spain

Company:

Mediapro

Trivia:

Woody Allen wrote the parts of Cristina and Juan Antonio with Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem in mind. Apparently, Bardem was his first and only choice for the male lead.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Christina gets sick when they are at Oviedo for the week-end. The doctor goes to her hotel room and advices her to rest and tells that she became sick because of her ulcer. In another scene, someone asks for a painkiller and she takes aspirin from her purse, despite the fact that aspirin worsens ulcers. However, she could merely carry aspirin in the event family/friends need it, which is what happens during the movie.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Vicky and Cristina decided to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky was completing her master's in Catalan Identity, which she had become interested in through her great affection for the architecture of Gaudí. Cristina, who spent the last six months writing...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "90210: To New Beginnings! (#2.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Barcelona

Woody Allen New and Fresh at 72

Principled monogamists may not like this film. Not only does it show its primary characters in relationships with multiple partners but, with one exception, they are quite open with each other about it. Allen suggests both that romantic happiness is best achieved with more than one person and that it is necessarily ephemeral (I wonder what his young wife, Soon-Yi Previn, thinks). He says in a Los Angeles Times interview with Rachel Abramowitz that Vicky Cristina Barcelona is, ultimately, "a very sad film."

If so, it may be the brightest sad film ever made. All of the actors are at their best and make immediate connections with the audience. With the exception of an unnecessary voice-over narration (in which Gaudí is mispronounced with stress on the initial syllable), the self-conscious affectations that haunt some of Allen's films are absent. Fine actors are allowed to speak for themselves. According to the Abramowitz interview, Allen "never talked to the actors, other than to give them stage directions." The resulting feel is often one of brilliant improvisation.

The complex romantic relationships among its four primary characters are what the movie's mostly about and I won't spoil it by going into them. Patricia Clarkson, however, deserves mention for her role as Judy Nash, the middle-aged wife of an American couple who are friends of Vicky's parents and with whom solid Vicky and impetuous Cristina stay in Barcelona (though Cristina soon moves in with the charismatic artist, Juan Antonio). Judy is married to a dull but steady man, somewhat similar to the man that Vicky is about to wed. Vicky confides to Judy about her uncharacteristic fling with Juan Antonio. Judy advises Vicky to reap her passion while she can and arranges another meeting between the two. All of this is low-keyed and entirely believable.

As the movie's title suggests, it's about Barcelona as well as Vicky and Cristina. There are many outdoor shots of the city, especially of Gaudí's Park Güell. They amount to more than a minor travelogue because structures that are usually photographed in isolation appear with everyday crowds of people. Like Bruges in the movie In Bruges, the city is more than scenic background. Though never mentioned explicitly, Barcelona's anarchist past bubbles to the surface.