IMDb > Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
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Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 84 | slideshow) Videos (see all 23)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) -- This is an interview with Penelope Cruz at the London Film Festival regarding Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) -- A scene titled "Juan Antonio" from the upcoming DVD release of Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) -- Woody Allen's new film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is a "love letter to love," says Academy award-winning actor Javier Bardem. The movie chronicles the summer holiday of two girlfriends in Barcelona.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) -- This is the UK theatrical trailer for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) -- This is the theatrical trailer for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, directed by Woody Allen.

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   42,062 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Woody Allen (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Vicky Cristina Barcelona on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 August 2008 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Life is the ultimate work of art
Plot:
Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 19 wins & 27 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(712 articles)
A Serious Man and the odd movie out
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 29 November 2009, 1:30 PM, PST)

Geek Deal: Black Friday Leftovers
 (From Slash Film. 29 November 2009, 11:30 AM, PST)

User Comments:
A triumphant effort from Woody Allen more (254 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Midnight in Barcelona (Spain) (working title)
Woody Allen Spanish Project (USA) (working title)
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MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexuality, and smoking.
Runtime:
96 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" was based on a screenplay Woody Allen originally wrote years earlier, which was set in San Francisco. Since his deal for this film specified that it must be shot in Spain, Allen looked for a story from his files that could be rewritten for a Spanish setting, took his old San Francisco-set script and rewrote it to take place in Barcelona. more
Goofs:
Continuity: (At 56:00) After Maria Elena moves in, they are having breakfast outdoors. Juan Antonio serves coffee for Christina and takes the sugar bowl which is in front of Maria Elena in the foreground, and puts it in front of Christina. The sugar bowl travels back and forth (three times) during the scene. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Narrator: Vicky and Cristina decided to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky was completing her master's in Catalan Identity, which she had become interested in through her great affection for the architecture of Gaudí. Cristina, who spent the last six months writing...
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Entre Dos Aguas more

FAQ

When does Penelope Cruz show up?
Where can I read the screenplay?
Is there an official Web site?
more
166 out of 245 people found the following comment useful.
A triumphant effort from Woody Allen, 15 August 2008
Author: AdnanZ

Although this film has bizarrely been described as breezy summer entertainment by some top critics (which leads me to wonder if they saw the same movie I did, or just the first half hour), "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is the closest thing to the sort of examination of relationships that Allen became famous for in quite some time ("Anything Else" counts, I suppose, but lacks the sharpness this film has), and although it is far from as weighty as some of his dramas or even some of his comedies, this is his first really inspired script in a while, featuring a cast of detailed, well-developed characters, some razor-sharp observations on relationships, and a wicked sense of humor.

Although I never thought Woody's work this decade was particularly poor (other than "Cassandra's Dream" and although I'm in a minority "Match Point"), it has mostly been completely inconsequential and almost entirely dependent on broad characterizations and heavy plotting rather than real people and awkwardly comic situations (which has always been Allen's strong suit). A career-best performance from Scarlett Johansson, a wickedly entertaining turn from Penelope Cruz, and the absolute revelation that is Rebecca Hall form a great cast along with Javier Bardem in a role that may surprise the majority of the American public (well, for most of the movie, anyway). You can feel Allen's mark on their mannerisms, but they all seem to disappear into these characters, that's how good they are.

I'm keeping this as spoiler-free as possible, because it's really worth going into the theater not expecting anything in particular and savoring the film's often unexpected but never contrived plot twists and turns. All you should know is that Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) go to Barcelona for the summer and things get complicated when they meet a charming, mysterious, and rich painter (Javier Bardem) and he makes a rather upfront proposition to both of them. It's best if you know nothing of how Cruz' character impacts the film prior to watching it.

In relation to Allen's other work I thought it was interesting that he never attempted to analyze sex. The whole movie is in many ways about sex, and there is a lot of the expected philosophical and psychological examination of the relationships between the characters in the film, but sex itself is never analyzed as it is in much of Allen's work, and is instead treated as the impenetrable mystery it is. That said, Allen's script is extraordinarily nuanced, something that I haven't expected from his writing in a while. Sure, the characters still represent opposing romantic philosophies, but there's a spark in the writing that makes these feel like real people as opposed to mere characters. That spark, that chemistry is there throughout "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", it's there in the vibrant cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe, it's there in the performances, it's there in the shot composition, and it's there in the editing, and in pretty much anything else I haven't mentioned yet.

The first forty minutes or so of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" may be the sort of romantic comedy (very good romantic comedy, at that) that the advertising campaign seems to suggest it is, but for the rest of the film there's the sort of pessimistic optimism that colors much of Allen's work (if that makes sense, pretend you didn't read it if it didn't), and let's just say it doesn't end well for these characters. There's real complexity and intensity in this film, and all I have to say is this: Woody Allen is back, the perceptive, intelligent examiner of the human heart, that is, not what we've had for the past while. To say this is one of his best films would be ignoring the fact that through the 70's and 80's he pretty much made nothing but great films, but I can at least say that this is on par with some of his better work.

8.5/10

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
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tips for Woody jeroen-106
was some of the pretentiousness intentional? woscafrench
100 things we learned from this film... JiminyCrispies
Pardon me, but... Boring. Bobby009
Who did Juan Antoniolike more? V or C? pancakeamiga
It was all for nothing! xtrue22
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