Vicky Cristina Barcelona Update

New Update: here is a new trailer ... did I see right? They are promoting the movie as Cannes Official Selection??? Well, it was an Out of Competition screening, nothing more.



For obvious reasons I had to post the trailer of this Woody Allen movie. Unfortunately has only music, but since I saw that clip with witty dialogue (is Woody Allen back????) at the Cannes opening ceremony my hopes have been raised a little.



Enjoy!

Well, after the premiere there are some good and some bad news. Check some excerpts from press articles.

"The only parts of Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona that really and truly feel alive and crackling are the Spanish-language scenes between Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz," writes Jeffrey Wells. "These two, portraying a pair of identically tempestuous, self-obsessed painters whose marriage has fallen apart due to an overabundance of heat and impulse and Spanish vinegar, are dynamite together. They create spark showers when they rage and taunt and rekindle their mutual hunger." The problem? A "persistent, obnoxious, unwanted and thoroughly unnecessary narration track... There were boos."

"Bardem is simply delicious as a post-Valentino roué who's just as sexy but not quite as smart as he thinks. When he, Johansson, and Cruz settle into a sensual ménage a trois, it's hard not to think Allen has become the dirty old man of the movies. However he gets his jollies, though, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is an unexpected picnic - a lightweight New Yorker short story lit up with real warmth." Ty Burr.

"Devant les bâtiments de Gaudi à Barcelone, dans les ruelles de la ville d'Oviedo ou dans la campagne catalane, les acteurs se débattent dans leur carcan de clichés. Javier Bardem joue l'artiste ténébreux avec pas mal de finesse alors que Penélope Cruz en fait des tonnes en furie sensuelle. Le film n'attache aucune importance à la réalité des lieux (Vicky peut terminer sa thèse sans parler l'espagnol et en ignorant apparemment l'existence du catalan) et les dialogues sur la créativité sont d'une vacuité hilarante, sans que jamais Woody Allen dissipe tout à fait le doute sur le sérieux avec lequel il les a écrits.

Dans ce film, l'Europe libertine a recouvré tous ses pouvoirs pour subvertir les trajectoires rectilignes des Américains trop tranquilles. On dirait qu'au soir de sa carrière, Woody Allen se prend à regretter sa vie d'angoisses existentielles entre les lits et les divans de Manhattan. Comme une utopie arrivée en retard, il imagine une autre vie, qui n'a rien à voir avec la vraie, mais qui réchauffe et fait rire le temps qu'elle est à l'écran." Le Monde, France.

The bad news: Americans continue to criticize him...
The good news: Americans like the Bardem/Cruz duo... Europeans find the movie empty but hilarous.. hmm... seems that is going to be interesting to watch.