Ah Barcelona

Rating: 8/10 (19 April 2009)

Vicky and Cristina are young American friends about to spend the summer in Spain. While both have different ideals, they are about to share a similar experience, resulting in a life upheaval.
Woody Allen cannot stop. He has made a film a year for the past thirty years. The two best things about Woody Allen films these days is that he has finally discovered Europe and that he is not in them. I for one, was over his incessant whining. I'd much rather his observations on people arrive from the mouth of Scarlett Johansson as it does here.
Javier Bardem is luminous as is Penelope Cruz and the delightful Rebecca Hall. The setting is rich, the characterization is spot on and everything falls into place. Not so his last outing, the dreadful 'Cassandra's Dream', which seemed so false, despite the cast of Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell. It's intriguing how a filmmaker like Allen can get it so wrong and then turn around and deliver a little gem like this. Ah Barcelona