Psychoanalysis in sunny, beautiful Barcelona.

Rating: 8/10 (27 August 2010)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a new kind of romantic film for Woody Allen, yet it still retains many of the classic Allen themes. It captures a certain kind of open-mindedness and tolerance that few people have but would surely want to have. Watching this film, I was never quite sure of what Woody was trying to say regarding the importance of artistic motivation in life or how it affects relationships and personalities. But then again, maybe there isn't much to say on the subject.
Like nearly all of Woody Allen's movies, there is a deft blend of comedy and psychoanalysis in this story, though less comedy than I expected. What is really intriguing is how Allen sets up the plot, with best friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) each symbolizing the two aspects Woody sees as essential to the female. Vicky is the intellectual who devotes herself entirely to her studies and has puritanical and idealistic ideas about love and life. Cristina is the artist, open-minded and more aware of the possibilities life offers her than Vicky. Into their lives comes the brash and sensual painter Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who shows a much different side than his horrifying performance in No Country for Old Men, at once both passionate and caring for each woman in his life.
But the real fiery passion at the center of the story is Maria Elena, the ex-wife of Juan Antonio played with sexy charisma by the immaculate Penelope Cruz. She enters the story about 50 minutes in, yet immediately becomes the only thing we can look at. It is at this point that the plot slightly steers off course as we are led to believe that a polyamorous relationship would form almost immediately between three of the characters and the utopian effects it creates. Still, Allen crafts a beautiful and charming story set in the gorgeous, sunny Barcelona with stunning buildings, attractive people and a meditative tale about what happens when art and life collide, and the lasting effects it can have.