Javier Bardem,The music & the settings are the best part.

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2009)

The film is set in beautiful Barcelona & also Ovieda. The music score is excellent.
Javier Bardem, one of Spain's best actors dominates every scene he is in (he usually does this in all his film-----he is that powerful of an actor. The film was written & directed by Woody Allen. Thankfully Mr. Allen does not have a role. This time we have a narrator,Christopher Even Welch, His narration is OK, AT least it is not as annoying as it would have been if Mr.Allen did it.
The main leads are done by the fine talents of; Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johannsen, & Penelope Cruz,
Miss Cruz got a deserved Oscar for her frenetic performance.
Patricia Clarkson gives another fine job.
This is a good comedy that Mr.Allen allowed to get overly farcial t the end.
My rating is a thumbs up mainly for Bardem, & the excellent music score, and of course Penelope Cruz. It should have been a better movie.
Ratings: *** (out of 10) 82 points(out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)