You can say this (among other things) about Woody Allen as a filmmaker: He sure does know how to give his movies a sense of place.
His latest, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, unfolds in Spain (largely in, yes, Barcelona) and man if it isn’t just the greatest commercial for that city.
A (mostly unnecessary) narrator gives us the film’s basic premise: two best friends, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), are spending the summer abroad.
Both have different views about life and love: Vicky is more uptight and methodical (not to mention engaged), and Cristina is more carefree and spontaneous.
Both of their lives are changed when they meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a painter just out of a troubled marriage (to María Elena, played by Penélope Cruz). Continue reading
Martin's Musings 