Vicky Cristina Barcelona Information

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The plot centers on two American women, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), who spend a summer in Barcelona where they meet an artist, Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who is attracted to both of them while still enamored of his mentally and emotionally unstable ex-wife María Elena (Penélope Cruz). 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 in the Actor, Actress and Supporting Actress categories, and won the award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Cruz won both the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Actress in a Supporting Role. Altogether, the film won 21 out of 28 nominations.

Plot

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) visit Barcelona for the summer, staying with Vicky's distant relative Judy (Patricia Clarkson) and her husband, Mark Nash (Kevin Dunn). A narrator (Christopher Evan Welch), present throughout the film, describes the two friends: Vicky is practical and traditional in her approach to love and commitment and is engaged to the reliable Doug (Chris Messina). She is in Barcelona getting her masters in "Catalan identity." Cristina, on the other hand, imagines herself to be a nonconformist, spontaneous but unsure of what she wants from life or love.

At an art exhibition, they catch a glimpse of the artist Juan Antonio Gonzalo (Javier Bardem). Cristina is intrigued by him at first sight, and grows curious when Judy and Mark tell the women that the artist has suffered a violent relationship with his ex-wife. Later that night, the women notice him across the room in a restaurant. He approaches their table to invite them to join him for the weekend in the city of Oviedo, in a small plane he flies himself, for sight-seeing, drinking wine, and sex. Cristina accepts the offer almost at once, but Vicky is unimpressed by his brazenness. She eventually decides to accompany her friend anyway, mainly to keep an eye on her and make sure that she doesn't get into trouble.

At the end of their first day, Juan Antonio asks both women to come to his room. Vicky refuses, but Cristina agrees, though she falls ill before anything happens. For the remainder of the weekend, Vicky and Juan Antonio are together while Cristina recuperates. During their trip, he tells her about his former wife and muse, María Elena, and their tumultuous relationship. Vicky's opinion of Juan Antonio begins to change when he takes her to visit his father, an old poet. Late at night, they attend a Spanish guitar concert. Afterwards, Vicky finally succumbs to his advances on the way back home.

The next day, Juan takes them back to Barcelona. Vicky, feeling guilty, does not mention the incident to Cristina, and the two begin to grow apart, Vicky throwing herself into her Catalan culture studies and Cristina taking up photography. Cristina quickly moves in with Juan Antonio. Meanwhile, Doug unexpectedly telephones Vicky, suggesting that they get married in Spain. She reluctantly agrees and he flies to meet her.

One night, Cristina and Juan Antonio are awakened by a call, learning that Juan's ex-wife María Elena (Penélope Cruz) has attempted to kill herself. Juan Antonio brings her to his house, and she moves into the guest room. Though initially María Elena mistrusts Cristina, she soon grows fond of her and her photography.

Cristina soon realizes that the ex-spouses are still in love, and María Elena confides that their relationship was always loving but unstable because they were missing something, a mystery element. María Elena suggests that the missing link is, in fact, Cristina and the three become polyamorous. Cristina discloses the events of her life to Vicky, who appears secretly jealous of her friend's relationship with Juan Antonio, and to Doug, who disapproves.

As the summer winds to a close, Vicky realizes she is unsatisfied in her married life and is still attracted to Juan Antonio. She learns that Judy is also unhappy in her marriage and confides in the older woman. Judy, who sees Vicky as a younger version of herself, decides to bring Juan Antonio and Vicky together. Vicky, however, believes that Judy, through Vicky, is "trying to rewrite" her own history. Meanwhile, Cristina becomes restless and announces she is leaving Juan Antonio and María Elena. María does not take the news well and breaks down. Cristina spends the last weeks of the summer in France. With their "missing link" gone, Juan Antonio and María Elena's relationship becomes abusive again, and María descends back into insanity.

Attempting to pair up Juan Antonio and Vicky, Judy arranges for them both to be at a party. Juan Antonio begs Vicky to meet him the next day. After lying to Doug, Vicky goes to Juan's home for lunch, after which Juan tries to seduce her again. She is at the point of consenting when María Elena bursts in with a gun and begins firing wildly. As Juan Antonio tries to calm his sobbing ex-wife, he accidentally shoots Vicky in the hand. Vicky shouts at both of them, saying they are insane and she could never live like this, and leaves.

When Cristina returns from France, Vicky confesses the entire story to her. Cristina says she never knew that Vicky felt that way about Juan Antonio, and she (Cristina) wishes she could have helped her. Doug never learns what truly happened. As the three Americans return home, Vicky goes back to her married life and Cristina remains where she started, knowing only what she doesn't want.

Cast

• Scarlett Johansson as Cristina
• Rebecca Hall as Vicky
• Javier Bardem as Juan Antonio Gonzalo
• Penélope Cruz as María Elena
• Chris Messina as Doug
• Patricia Clarkson as Judy Nash
• Kevin Dunn as Mark Nash
• Salvador Nasralla as Tio Gaybri

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 (Spain) because the film was partially funded with public money: Barcelona's city hall provided one million euro and the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia) 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.

Critical reception

Box office

, 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, (also starring Johansson) 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." 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.

• 5th " David Denby, The New Yorker
• 5th " Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter
• 5th " Robert Mondello, NPR
• 7th " Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
• 7th " Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
• 7th " Kyle Smith, New York Post
• 7th " Steve Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer
• 8th " Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
• 9th " Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
• 10th " Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun

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.