Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)

The wife and I went out last night and saw the new Woody Allen film, "Vicky Christina Barcelona." It was pretty much what I expected, the "fleetingness of love" type films that Allen tends to do. It's about these two American friends who are staying in Barcelona for two months. Vicky (played by relative newcomer, Rebecca Hall) is the engaged, dark haired, good girl who values more conservative relationship ideals and Christina (Johansson) is the more sensuous and adventurous, fair haired, girl who is never satisfied in any relationship. Though Allen reverses the physiognomy of the dark and light heroine roles, as the movie progresses, these roles begin to unravel and we begin to see glimpes of the values associated with each girl in the other. Javier Bardem is great in the film as a Spanish artist who was married and found love in fellow Spaniard, Penelope Cruz (also very good). Their artistically flourishing relationship faulters and ultimately tilts toward depression and violence, because they are "missing something" in their relationship. The lovers and fellow artists are too much alike, and it is in the two American tourists that they seek to find it. The movie is well acted and I think any accolades that any of the actors in this film receive are well-deserved. The acting is by far the strongest part of this film. However, the film lacks depth and there are moments that are so predicable. At times, I found myself wondering if I were watching some sort of avant-garde soap opera. Though Allen is ultimately trying to get us to look back on the "what ifs" of our lives and evaluate our traditional values, in the end, we are left with the notion that only we are able to decide what type of lifestyle is right and wrong for ourselves. For me, this film was the typical self-reflective Allen film--you will never find true love, it does not exist.*

2.5 out of 4.0

(*see "Annie Hall," "Manhattan," "Matchpoint," etc.)