Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by
Woody Allen. The plot centers on two American women, Vicky and Cristina, who spend a summer
in Barcelona where they meet an artist, Juan Antonio, who is attracted to both of them
while still enamored of his mentally and emotionally unstable ex-wife María Elena. The film was
shot in Spain in Barcelona, Avilés and Oviedo, and was Allen's fourth consecutive film shot
outside of the United States. The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film
Festival, then received a rolling worldwide general release that started on August 15,
2008, in the U.S., and continued in various countries until its June 2009 release in Japan.
The film was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, including nominations for Bardem,
Hall and Cruz for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, respectively,
and won the award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Cruz won both the Academy
Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Altogether, the film won
25 out of 56 nominations.
Plot Vicky and Cristina visit Barcelona for the
summer, staying with Vicky's distant relative Judy and her husband Mark. While the two are
great friends, Vicky is practical and traditional in her approach to love and commitment and
is engaged to the reliable Doug, whereas Cristina imagines herself to be a nonconformist, spontaneous
but unsure of what she wants from life or love.
At an art exhibition, Cristina is intrigued by artist Juan Antonio, who Judy says has
suffered a violent relationship with his ex-wife. Later, he brazenly approaches the two women
to invite them to join him right away for the weekend in the city of Oviedo, in a small
plane he flies himself, for sight-seeing, fine eating and drinking, and hopefully, love-making.
Cristina is won over by the offer almost at once, but Vicky is unimpressed and reluctant;
she however eventually decides to accompany her friend anyway, mainly to watch over her.
At the end of their first day, Vicky refuses to join Juan Antonio in his hotel room, citing
her fidelity to Doug, but Cristina accepts his invitation immediately. Before the love-making
starts, Cristina suddenly falls ill with digestive complaints, and is put to bed, with food poisoning.
Vicky and Juan Antonio proceed to spend the weekend together alone while they wait for
Cristina to recuperate. Vicky gradually changes her opinion of Juan Antonio as he tells her
about his tumultuous relationship with his former wife, María Elena. Vicky accompanies
him to visit his father, an old poet, and then becomes deeply moved by a Spanish guitar
performance later that evening. She finally succumbs to Juan Antonio's advances as they
walk through a grove of trees in the dark. The next day, with Cristina recovered, the
three of them fly back to Barcelona. Feeling guilty, Vicky does not mention the
incident to Cristina, and the two begin to grow apart. Vicky starts throwing herself
into her studies while Cristina and Juan Antonio take up a relationship. Cristina then moves
in with Juan Antonio and begins to discover more about his past. After learning that María
Elena attempted to kill herself, Juan Antonio brings her to his home, where Cristina already
lives. After some defiance, the two women grow fond of each other. Cristina realizes
that the ex-spouses are still in love, and María Elena suggests that Cristina may be
the element that can give balance and stability to their relationship. All three become romantically
involved with one another. In the meantime, Vicky is joined in Spain
by an enthusiastic Doug and the two get married. When Cristina describes her new life with
Juan Antonio to Vicky, Vicky becomes secretly jealous, and after a few other awkward moments,
she realizes she is unsatisfied in her married life and is still attracted to Juan Antonio.
Learning that Judy is similarly unhappy in her marriage, she confides to her, and Judy,
who sees her younger self in Vicky, decides to bring Juan Antonio and Vicky together.
Meanwhile, Cristina becomes restless and at some point decides to leave Juan Antonio and
María Elena; without her, their relationship quickly falls apart again.
As the summer winds to a close, Judy arranges for Juan Antonio and Vicky to meet at a party.
Juan Antonio begs Vicky to meet him again privately before leaving Spain, which she
finally accepts, lying to Doug in the process. At his home, Juan Antonio seduces and wins
Vicky over again, but they are interrupted by María Elena who bursts in with a gun,
firing wildly as Juan Antonio tries to calm her. Vicky gets shot in the hand in the process,
and leaves, shouting they are insane and she could never live like this. She confesses
the entire story to Cristina, who never realized how Vicky felt about Juan Antonio, and wishes
she could have helped her. Doug, Vicky and Cristina return to America; Doug never learns
what truly happened, Vicky goes back to her married life, and Cristina is back where she
started, unsure of what she wants. Cast
Javier Bardem as Juan Antonio Gonzalo Penélope Cruz as María Elena
Scarlett Johansson as Cristina Rebecca Hall as Vicky
Chris Messina as Doug Patricia Clarkson as Judy Nash
Kevin Dunn as Mark Nash The Spanish actor Joan Pera, who dubbed Allen's
voice in his previous films, makes a cameo appearance.
Production In 2007, controversy arose in Catalonia because
the film was partially funded with public money: Barcelona's city hall provided one
million euro and the Generalitat de Catalunya half a million, or ten percent of the film's
budget. This was the third time Johansson and Allen
worked together, following Match Point and Scoop. This film also marked the second time
Johansson and Hall worked together, the first time being in The Prestige.
The movie featured several paintings by the Catalan artist Agustí Puig. Puig was even
commissioned to create a painting for the movie, the result being La Protectora II,
though it was not used on set. The film was shot on location in Barcelona
and Oviedo. Critical reception
Box office As of July 2009, the film grossed $96 million
worldwide; in relation to its $15 million budget, it is one of Allen's most profitable
films. Reviews
Vicky Cristina Barcelona garnered the best reviews Allen received since his Oscar-nominated
2005 film Match Point, particularly for Cruz's performance, earning a rating of 82 percent
on Rotten Tomatoes. Scott Tobias wrote in the Onion AV Club that
it was "a witty and ambiguous movie that's simultaneously intoxicating and suffused with
sadness and doubt". Richard Roeper suggested that Cruz should receive an Academy Award
nomination for her role. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle praised the film as
"the work of a confident and mature artist", referring to Allen. Manohla Dargis of The
New York Times wrote "Although Vicky Cristina trips along winningly, carried by the beauty
of its locations and stars — and all the gauzy romanticism those enchanted places and
people imply — it reverberates with implacable melancholy, a sense of loss." Richard Corliss
ended his review of the film with "The movie has neither the sardonic heft of Max Ophüls's
La Ronde nor the emotional precision of Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night, two films
that also dance the change-partners gavotte. But Vicky Cristina Barcelona is so engaging
so much of the time that it feels like a modest rejuvenation: evidence that a summer in Spain
can do wonders for a writer-director who may not have outlived his prime." S. Williams
of Momzone magazine singled out Johansson's performance for praise, writing, "Johansson's
acting is syrup: fluid and sweet." Ian Freer of Empire gave the film 4 out of 5, and wrote
"within Allen's recent output, Vicky Cristina is a highlight. See it for beautiful locales,
an ambivalent look at human relationships and a clutch of great performances, especially
from Cruz." Top ten lists
The film appeared on many critics' top-ten lists of the best films of 2008.
Awards and nominations The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best
Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Woody Allen won his first Independent Spirit Award
for Best Screenplay and was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best
Original Screenplay. Penélope Cruz won the Best Supporting Actress
award from numerous organizations including: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,
the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Boston
Society of Film Critics, the Goya Awards, the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, the Los
Angeles Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics
Circle, and the Southeastern Film Critics Association.
References
External links Vicky Cristina Barcelona at the Internet Movie
Database Vicky Cristina Barcelona at Box Office Mojo
Vicky Cristina Barcelona at Rotten Tomatoes Vicky Cristina Barcelona at Metacritic
Vicky Cristina Barcelona at The Numbers Filming locations of Vicky Cristina Barcelona
at Movieloci.com