Scoop may have led skeptics to believe Match Point was some kind of fluke, but Vicky Cristina Barcelona confirmed that whatever groove Woody Allen was perceived to have lost, he regained in his new European-based films. All it took was a little good old fashioned polyamory. Of course there was more to it than that, but that aspect was certainly seen as a bold move. Critics celebrated its beautifully communicated sense of place and strong performances from its leads, including an Oscar for Penelope Cruz.
The Scarlett Johansson character Cristina seems to be the focus of the movie, with much of the story serving as a kind of learning experience for her. Most people seem to have a difficult time teasing out some of the meaning of the movie, but there seems to be something to the various threesomes featured in the film, including but not limited to the sexual variety experienced by Cristina with Juan Antonio and Maria Elena. The idea that three can sometimes operate more functionally than two pops up time and again. But again, I for one don’t really know what to make of this. The fact that it jumps out at people though despite its ambiguity is a strength rather than a weakness as far as I’m concerned.
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Published: Jun 23, 2013 07:55 pm