Barcelona (1994)

Ted, a stuffy white guy from Illinois working in sales for the Barcelona office of a US corporation, is paid an unexpected visit by his somewhat less stuffy cousin Fred, who is an officer ... See full summary »

Director:

Whit Stillman

Writer:

Whit Stillman

Stars:

Taylor Nichols, Chris Eigeman, Tushka Bergen

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Taylor Nichols	...	Ted Boynton
Chris Eigeman	...	Fred Boynton
Tushka Bergen	...	Montserrat Raventos
Mira Sorvino	...	Marta Ferrer
Pep Munné	...	Ramone
Hellena Taylor	...	Greta (as Hellena Schmied)
Núria Badia	...	Aurora Boval
Thomas Gibson	...	Dickie Taylor
Jack Gilpin	...	The Consul
Pere Ponce	...	Young Doctor
Laura López	...	Nuria - Ted's Assistant
Francis Creighton	...	Frank Robinson
Edmon Roch	...	Javier
Diana Sassen	...	Woman - 'Shootings in America'
Àngels Bassas	...	Woman - 'Jazz'

Storyline

Ted, a stuffy white guy from Illinois working in sales for the Barcelona office of a US corporation, is paid an unexpected visit by his somewhat less stuffy cousin Fred, who is an officer in the US Navy. Over the next few months, both their lives are irrevocably altered by the events which follow Fred's arrival, events which are the trivial stuff of a comedy of manners at first but which gradually grow increasingly dramatic.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. navy | marketing | black leather underwear | black leather | underwear | 

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Taglines:

Americans. Anti Americans. In Love

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content and a brief sex scene

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

29 July 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Барселона

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$3,200,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$7,266,973 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Barcelona Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, Fine Line Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Cameo: Whit Stilman on the dance floor at the disco club along with cinematographer John Thomas and a few of the camera crew in the opening shot as dancing extras during the dance number 'You've Got What It Takes' just before Ted and Montserrat arrive. Stillman is the one on the extreme left looking into a teleprompter just off-camera (identifiable from the shining white light from the teleprompter screen).

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Goofs

When Fred and Ted are driving through Barcelona early in the film, Ted's driving barely matches the direction the car is moving.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ted Boynton: [voice-over] I couldn't believe Fred would just show up like that. On the other hand, it was absolutely typical.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Client/Lassie/It Could Happen to You/North/Barcelona (1994)

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Soundtracks

You've Got What It Takes
Written by Sylvester Levay and Stephan Prager
Performed by Silver Convention

User Reviews

One of my all-time favorites

Back when I wasn't really into buying films on video, I bought this one. The humor is subtle, understated, ironic, and tremendously well-written. It is just ending as I write this. Every time I see it I notice a few more things that make me laugh. None of it is the shocking, laugh-out-loud style of humor, but there are several intellectual chuckles.

For some people, it will seem too intellectual and therefore it will strike them as pretentious. That is not a criticism at all, only a warning. I don't find it pretentious at all.

The best part is the interesting characters. They are written as complete, well-developed people who have wildly different outlooks on Spain-U.S. relations. While Whit Stillman does a great job of analyzing these relations, the central focus of the movie is how these characters relate to each other in the arena of these larger ethnic relations.

I firmly believe that anyone who enjoys dialogue-driven, non-action-oriented films will love this one. I gave it a "10."