Vicky Cristina Barcelona

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)

Woody Allen has woven yet another web of relationships in which he has once again trapped a respectable series of sympathetic actors and actresses. Again, it's a very fine viewing experience, aided this time by the (by Allen's standards) exotic setting. From the beginning, Vicky Cristina Barcelona has a very strange momentum that is perhaps not even momentum. The story rather just goes along through sunny Spain, waiting, waiting, waiting... Before the director and screenwriter mixes the character of the excellent Penélope Cruz into the plot and a peaceful scenic drive through the countryside becomes a true rally thanks to her temperament. I give four and a bit mainly for her. (06/08/2014)

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)

In his old age, Woody Allen somehow caught a new artistic vibe and can surprise with at least every other film he churns out at a machine gun pace. After his film Match Point, this is the second film I've seen in a short time where I had a hard time finding his typical style. For a long time, essentially for the entire first half of the film, I couldn't immerse myself in it, but with every passing minute, this Boccaccio-esque tangle of relationships and love passions got to me more and more. Unlike his older comedies, Allen reduced his typical dialogue banter, omitted the character of a neurotic intellectual, and focused on a group of people who have problems with their emotions and long for something that is currently out of their reach. The infidelities, seductions, rejections, and sufferings are presented convincingly and have charm, especially when they form a remarkable polygon. It may not be the pinnacle of Allen's work, but Vicky Cristina Barcelona definitely belongs to the better things he has created. Overall impression: 80%. (24/05/2010)

First I fell in love with the poster, and after that, one photo was enough to decide whether to buy it or not. And I did indeed buy it because I know what I like. :) A free translation for those interested in the actual commentary on Vicky Cristina Barcelona reads as follows: I've gotten used to having Scarlett Johansson, who I don’t particularly like, in movies I wouldn't want to miss, so her acting doesn't give me goose bumps as much anymore. I've confirmed many times that I prefer to seek out Penélope Cruz outside of the present in films from any past era, and Javier Bardem impressed me in Goya's Ghosts and Love in the Time of Cholera. The combination of these three actors, however, evoked flawless chemistry in my eyes, and the summer mood imbued with the sexual energy of a love triangle promised exactly the kind of story the film tells. Are you tempted by this? Give in to it. (18/04/2010)