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The Spanish National Tourist Office, The Agency for Tourism in Catalonia, The Antoni Gaudi Association and Woody Allen proudly presents Vicky Christina Barcelona, the latest promotional movie targeted for the US market. The list of Golden Sponsors for this movie is the following: The Vacation Department of Hollywood Trade Union, The Macho Lover Guild, The Love-seeking American Girls Club, The Society of Idiotic But Wealthy American Husbands and finally the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Stereotypes.

So the story goes that Woody and his crew got bored in foggy Albion and aspired to warmer climate for a while. They also got allies, as the Spanish contingent in Hollywood wanted a free trip home. They quickly assembled a script, managed to convince some film managers (also just considering a Spanish vacation) and soon they started the shooting in the warm, sunny and lovable city of Barcelona. They also included a few excursions into the script, just to prevent getting bored in the same city for such a long time. Everyone enjoyed staying there, the siesta, the excellent wine, the tourist attractions, the friendly locals, the possibility of flirting and everything. In the end, somehow they even managed to put the film together.

And it's not that bad, after all. The story passes as an easy-going comedy: the main line is that two American girls spend some time in Spain and have affairs with a charming Spanish womanizer. This is an ideal story for single female audience, but obviously alienates young and wealthy Gringos: unfortunately they are presented as boring idiots. Not exactly an ideal program to take your girlfriend out on Valentine-Day. Luckily, with non-US male audience the problem is absent, for they can easily identify themselves as the Latin womanizer and can also practice their anti-yankee sentiments.

The movie is saved by the fairly good cast and the usual Woody Allen irony. A little bit everyone plays his or her parody, which gives just enough spice to the otherwise rather calculable story.

Woody Allen has made much better movies than this one. Still, this is far more enjoyable than the the latest Adam Sandler or Ben Stiller effort or anything else Hollywood nowadays releases under the comedy tag.

Gigor Attila's first movie is a well-done European art movie.

Let me first explain what I mean by using the term "European art movie": these are (mostly, though not exclusively) European movies that differ significantly from Hollywood movies in style (slow-paced story, less action, more atmosphere, more realistic characters, more emphasis in social or individual problems, a bit more experimenting e.g. with the photography, with the story, etc.). However, although the stylistic differences might give you the illusion of real value, these movies are basically as empty as their Hollywood counterparts: no message, no catharsis. Just pure entertainment, albeit for a different audience: instead of teenagers drinking coke in McDonalds looking for action and special visual effects, it is more for university students drinking green tea in a tea-house, looking for the aforementioned stylistic elements.

So, this is the field where this movie tries to make an impression. And it succeeds, mostly. There is an excellent start and some interesting characters (a lonely, shy and quite weird anatomist and his wannabe girlfriend). There is a relatively good story with some unexpected twists (experienced viewer may guess them, though). And finally, there is the obligatory "artistic" element, this time taken from Woody Allen (at least I saw similar ideas in his movies): in some points the movie gets surreal by showing the main character's thoughts and dreams: these are probably the best parts of the film. Of course this is not a perfect movie, there are a few inconsistencies in the script, but in summary it is an enjoyable piece. That is, if you like the genre.

A French-Lebanese movie. The style (and apparently some of the money) comes from the French: this movie could have been directed by Eric Rohmer or Agnes Jaoui. The story is Lebanese, although it gives an ideal mix of eternal dilemmas and local flavours. The eternal dilemmas are the various female roles and conflicts which you can experience everywhere in the world. The local flavours are provided by the Lebanese environment, which is excitingly mixed itself. It is a country torn by civil wars, as we know from the press, but looks much more peaceful in this movie. Christians and Muslims, Arabs and French-speaking coexist in a natural although perhaps a bit tense manner (proven by the strong presence of the military and the police). Still, the story concentrates on how women face love, loneliness and aging. These are eternal issues but the local patriarchist society gives much less freedom for women in coping with them than in the west. This is mildly criticized by director Nadine Labaki (also playing one of the main roles of the movie) in this refreshing and interesting film.