what i'm watching: vicky cristina barcelona

I don't know if any of you are Woody Allen fans, but Allan and I see each new movie of his without fail. Once out of the tabloid headlines, Woody Allen has continued to quietly make great little movies. "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is no exception. It's about love and desire, passion versus stability, and the longings that drive our dissatisfaction. In other words, the human condition.

For me this movie had a few extra attractions. It's set against a backdrop of Barcelona, a place I haven't been and very much want to go, high on my list right now. And there's a special nod for us polyamorous and bisexual folks, as the healthiest, most stable and productive relationship in the movie is also the least conventional.

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is not a departure for Woody Allen; it's typical Woody fare. The casting, writing and direction are all perfect. I'm really amazed how he can keep creating these wonderful little movies, somehow completely typical of his aesthetic yet not tired or predictable.

If it's been a long time since you've seen one of his films, this would be an excellent re-introduction.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

not so fast

Not everyone thinks the Conservative government is a lock. Canada's opposition Conservative Party, which is set to bring down the minority Liberal government later this week, was hit by a new opinion poll on Monday that showed it was trailing in the country's most vote-rich region. The Leger Marketing poll for the Sun chain of newspapers put support for the Liberals in the powerful central province of Ontario at 43 percent compared with 31 percent for the Conservatives. Ontario, a Liberal stronghold at the federal level for the past 12 years, accounts for 106 of the 308 seats in House of Commons, and no party can hope to form a government without doing well there. . . . Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberals have been badly hurt by a corruption scandal and Conservative leader Stephen Harper says the government must be defeated as soon as possible. The Leger figures, however, suggest there is no guarantee Harper can end 12 years of Liberal rule. Thanks, ALPF! I must say, I...
Read more

dipstick

So there won't be an election yet. Talk about a squeaker . Feel free to tell us how you feel about this, unless it's all been said already, then feel free not to. ALPF mustered his courage and sent more links, so I have some good commentary to post. I found this Macleans story on the Conservative party's reaction to Stronach's decision - and public reaction to that reaction - very interesting. Canadians seem almost universally turned off by the name-calling and sexist slurs. On the other hand, when a certain governor made his "girly men" pronouncement, his constituency howled with glee. (Which is not to say the rest of us weren't appalled.) The Macleans article also notes that not all the sexism came from politicians: Some of the most sexist characterizations of Stronach didn't come from her political adversaries, but from media. Montreal's La Presse newspaper ran a cartoon of Martin leaning out his car window to solicit a street-walking Stronach...
Read more