Good postcard film, but postcard film anyway

Rating: Null/10 (21 September 2008)

I'll be brief, since I don't like reviewing films that much. However, I just hope to warn any possible viewers giving my point of view in what I believe is a good movie that could have been much better if it wasn't such an awful representation of Barcelona.
With this film, Allen claimed he wanted to make a film "where the city was the protagonist". Well, in this, the film is a miserable failure. The whole representation is like some sort of anti-septic city, beautiful and monumental, almost like some earthy paradise, with people owning large houses and living beside the mountain. Of course, I couldn't ask for Woody Allen to make actual social commentaries- that would be for someone else- but I think he exceeded a little the whole "beautiful shots" a lot, it's almost like a tourist guide, there is nothing of the true Barcelona here. Rumours say that Allen was pressured to make such a nice view of Barcelona by the government of the city, that paid for part of the film. I am unsure, however the most "realistic" part was when he showed the street prostitutes, the rest is purely postcard. I was expecting this when I heard he would shoot in my city, which is in fact very beautiful and monumental, yes, but also has another side, much larger and much more charming (even if darker) that has been completely ignored.
The rest of the film, I enjoyed a lot. I am glad Penelope and Bardem were cast in the film, as they make- to my taste- the most interesting characters in the film. The relationships of the characters are interesting, and even though they are mostly clichés, the way they are used is very intelligent. It could have been better, but I can't complain since the film kept me interested most of the time, even though it bugged me a little with it's excessive voice over narrations, I was expecting a whole Jeunet style "like/don't like" scene at any moment.
But this review is mainly a statement from someone who lives in Barcelona, just pointing out the representation of the city is fake and forced, purely promotional. Sure, it is still beautiful, but not the way Woody puts its. Hell, it would have been much more credible if Christina had been robbed at least once.