Vicky Cristina Barcelona

aka: Vicky Christina Barcelona
USA 2008, 97 minutes
Dir. Woody Allen
In English, Spanish with English subtitles
Rating: [M]
Genres: Comedy, Drama / Romance

Feat. Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson

Aroview: Woody Allen proves he hasn't lost his touch with this refreshing and vital rom-com that follows two American gal-pals who fall for the charms of an artist and his firecracker ex-wife when on summer vacation in Barcelona.

With three scorching actresses, heart-throb Javier Bardem and Barcelona in the cast, this couldn't help but be Woody Allen's 'sexiest' film to date, but he capitalises with an intuitive script that brings out their unique qualities with both wisdom and a lightness of touch. As with MATCH POINT (also starring Johansson), Woody abstains from micro-managing the performances, so its generally free of his mannerisms that have come to irritate even his some of his fan-base. Still, his abiding themes of the tension between art and life are omnipresent, as is his signature use of a narrator, only this time he gets the chemistry of all these elements just right.