cucufata

I'll be brief, since I don't like reviewing films that much. However, I just hope to warn any possible viewers giving my point of view in what I believe is a good movie that could have been much better if it wasn't such an awful representation of Barcelona.

With this film, Allen claimed he wanted to make a film "where the city was the protagonist". Well, in this, the film is a miserable failure. The whole representation is like some sort of anti-septic city, beautiful and monumental, almost like some earthy paradise, with people owning large houses and living beside the mountain. Of course, I couldn't ask for Woody Allen to make actual social commentaries- that would be for someone else- but I think he exceeded a little the whole "beautiful shots" a lot, it's almost like a tourist guide, there is nothing of the true Barcelona here. Rumours say that Allen was pressured to make such a nice view of Barcelona by the government of the city, that paid for part of the film. I am unsure, however the most "realistic" part was when he showed the street prostitutes, the rest is purely postcard. I was expecting this when I heard he would shoot in my city, which is in fact very beautiful and monumental, yes, but also has another side, much larger and much more charming (even if darker) that has been completely ignored.

The rest of the film, I enjoyed a lot. I am glad Penelope and Bardem were cast in the film, as they make- to my taste- the most interesting characters in the film. The relationships of the characters are interesting, and even though they are mostly clichés, the way they are used is very intelligent. It could have been better, but I can't complain since the film kept me interested most of the time, even though it bugged me a little with it's excessive voice over narrations, I was expecting a whole Jeunet style "like/don't like" scene at any moment.

But this review is mainly a statement from someone who lives in Barcelona, just pointing out the representation of the city is fake and forced, purely promotional. Sure, it is still beautiful, but not the way Woody puts its. Hell, it would have been much more credible if Christina had been robbed at least once.

OK, I am not Japanese. I do know a little about Japanese culture, and a little less about Japanese pop culture. Other than that, I am Spanish, I eat paella and I like black humor.

Good, with that point set, I can comment on the movie: I have no idea on how it is enjoyable to the Japanese audiences, Mamoru Oshii is quite a good director- despite the overly pedantic postmodern stuff in the style of Talking Head, and even that was curious and somehow interesting- and I am surprised he came up with this. It may just be one of those lost-in-translation cases, I am afraid it is, but as a European viewer watching the film with subtext overloaded English subtitles I just thought it was horrible. The jokes seemed bad, the script was overcooked- I mean, give the audience a break, and shut up a little you damn narrator- to the point of almost making my head explode over an overkill of fast-paced speaking and absurd action.

However, I thought the animation was really cool. The idea is great, and it is well exploited in those animated scenes. However, the eye-candy finishes as soon as the characters are left aside to start with an endless not funny at all mumbo-jumbo speech over still pictures. It just makes you want to fast forward to the next cut-out hysterical characters scene.

I read Mamoru Oshii is actually planning on a sequel for this. The idea was good but horribly exploited. Maybe the second part will bring up the good parts of this first one and actually make an interesting movie, or maybe it will be more and more over-narrated scenes. But hell, if you thought Talking Head was dense, Amazing Lifes of Fast Food Gifters will give cause you a stroke.

Of course, all this comment is based on the experiences of someone who is European. Probably this is totally useless to Japanese people, maybe it was a really funny film lost in cultural frontiers and translation. Maybe.