Barcelona

Rating: 7/10 (22 September 2009)

I was pretty reluctant to watch this movie given that I don't care for most of the actors and I hadn't heard good things about it from the people in Barcelona, where I live. After watching it I can say that I found the movie entertaining and well made, but in many aspects I do agree with the Catalans and their complaints. Most of all, I would really like people to know, and I am an American who has been living in Cataluña for the last 20 years, that the beautiful and welcoming city you see in the movie is complete fiction. Barcelona's habitants, who speak a language called Catalan, are mostly poor and can't afford the many luxuries most tourists think. I know artists of all kinds, but not one who could afford to live on the money earned from it. Neither Javier Bardem nor Penelope are Catalans, which bothered some people, but most of the Catalans I know were more concerned with the fact that Bardem's character is from Oviedo, yet Vicky, who studies the Catalan identity (her one reason for visiting Barcelona), says she's interested in him because he's Catalan. Anyone who knows about Catalan identity should know that you are not Catalan just because you live in Cataluña. My husband was born in Barcelona, yet the Catalans consider him an outsider, because his parents are from the south. I understand that as American tourists, Vicky and Cristina are more interested in seeing the popular sights, but it would have been OK to show the real side of Barcelona, the heroin junkies (1% of the population, also the most common cause of death), the crime (mostly thieves), the very poor immigrants, etc...
That aside, there are many things I did like about the film. As with all Of Mr. Allen's movies, you find incredibly witty dialog and interesting characters who will surely entertain you for the duration of the film. But the best thing about the movie, and this surprises even me, is Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena. I'm usually not a fan of her films or her acting, but she really outdid herself and was more alive than most of her costars. I'm tempted to have her "Niñata de mierda!" scream as my ringtone.