Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Only unfulfilled love can be romantic. During the trailer, I anxiously anticipated, at the first reviews unexpectedly attaching the film with the stamp of the funniest movie of the year, he blinked surprised and didn't even breathe during the film. And he cursed the reviews. This comedy is not it, and from my point of view, it doesn't come anywhere close to it. Not that the humor is completely missing, but in several places, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was watching Match Point for the second time - this time written with a much more positive mood. Woody's experimenting should never (if possible) end. Thanks to Spain, everything is intimately familiar and yet brilliantly new. When the uncompromising artist Bardem steps up to the table, a hint of the coming symbolism of partnership can be sensed, but it was only when the fascinating intimacy began to unfold that I realized what a unique work I had come across. Because I didn't see pure romance anymore, Woody probably has his ultra-happy endings definitively behind him. And at the same time, I didn't see a hint of cynicism, just the suppression of idealism and the inevitable acquisition of a certain perspective. Thanks to this, Vicky is enjoyed the most by those romantics who have already been burned. Those sweetly hopeful should rather wait a few more years alongside Hana and her sisters. (31/12/2008)

Allen is still in top form, writing great scripts like a treadmill and breathing such charm into them as no one else could. Though it's true that here the central female trio contributes a lot to the charm, with one actress being more attractive (and better) than the other – and I was downright envious of Javier Bardem's role. It's not a romantic gem and it gets a bit lost in the flood of Allen's films, but it's still a more than pleasant summer diversion spiced up with excellent actors and the traditionally playful direction of one of the most legendary filmmakers of our time. Besides, there's something really magical about Barcelona, and it's not the Nou Camp...:-) 80% (03/04/2013)

A living classic set off to warm his bones under the Catalonian sun to make his old-man’s wet dream come true. And because he’s no jerk, he eagerly shares full screen footage of Scarlett’s nipples (*glurp*), Penelope’s butt (yum!), Rebecca’s thighs and Bardem’s five o’clock shadow (wowie) with the public... Oh but, no, no, that neurotic miser only shares the thighs and the five o’clock shadow. But really, in places it’s so hot that, despite it being the beginning of a damp and drizzly fall, I recommend you wear summer clothes when you watch this. This applies mainly for those who can boast chromosome Y in their genetic makeup. And how Bardem organizes his household is priceless. But it wouldn’t be a Woody Allen movie of past years without one big “but". A kind of nothing intro. It’s just too sleepy summer like. It requires María Elena to plunge in and save the movie. Personally I was also upset that the two best characters (Juan’s father and María Elena) are criminally kept in the background. Overall, no miracle to be penned into the master’s filmography in gold lettering, but excellent as relaxing summer entertainment. (22/10/2008)

Woody Allen, even at his rather advanced age, is incredibly funny, a brilliantly wry observer and storyteller who ingeniously hides his ironic messages underneath the charming, sens(eless)ual beauty of summertime Barcelona. The characters of the two (gorgeous) leads are at first glance more than a little different, but as their characters are put into situations in which they are more and more "tested" as the narrative progresses, the initial scattergun approach then completely disappears and the individual attributes of their characters overlap and merge. Vicky Cristina Barcelona can hardly be described as a romantic genre film because there is so much hidden under that attractive skin that would be worthy of several stacks of psychological, philosophical, or social studies, none of which would come to anything definite anyway. However, the way Woody Allen presents his views on relationships, family life, or morality is fantastic. (21/11/2010)

Actually, the Spanish atmosphere definitely saved the film. The screenplay is quite interesting, but on the other hand an "Italian relationship" is also nothing new. What's much more original is that they get a beautiful blonde girl involved. And instead of their relationship falling apart, it balances it out. The beautiful blonde is a great actress, by the way! Oh, and to make matters worse, we have the ordinary Vicky, who doesn't actually do anything throughout the film. A film you only have to see once. 3.5 stars. (28/06/2011)