Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Barcelona is recognizable enough and exotic enough to frame the latest complication from Woody Allen. Allen himself claims to care very little about films. He doesn't consider them the center of his life. Strange, because I do, Woody Allen without his films is...well I don't know who or what he is. Here he ventures again outside New York in a shape and form that reminded me a little bit of Jacques Rivette. Scarlet Johansson and Rebecca Hall, as the blond and the brunette of the title, make a great pair of opposites or seemingly so. Javier Bardem is the artist that comes to ruffle their world and the spectacular Penelope Cruz (getting better and better with every movie) is the hysterical side of the artist's past. We spend a great deal of time sitting at tables eating and drinking while a voice over guide us through their physical and emotional journey. I was delighted, entertained ever aroused. Woody Allen keeps surprising and he's got it whether he cares about it or not.

I watched this film a few days after I had seen Allen's previous effort, Cassandra's Dream, and I must admit that I was going through a bit of a spell with him because, over the last decade I have almost had to defend his films that I have liked, while also acknowledging the man that are average or worse. However, like Spike Lee, I rarely find a film of his that isn't worth seeing – whether it is any good or not being another question. Vicky Cristina Barcelona was out in the US and the fact that I had access to a Woody Allen film suggested that it was better than some of his more recent work (a lot of which I never got the chance to see in any cinema) but I was also wary because this film was well-known for one specific thing and I figured that perhaps it was being helped by that, with the studio hoping the "A Woody Allen film" tag wouldn't put the teenage male crowd off paying to see what they came for!

I needn't have worried because it is like the man behind Cassandra's Dream and this film cannot be the same person. It is a excellent film and one that Allen's fans will love and perhaps, just perhaps, it may even be good enough to win over those that wouldn't give him the time of day far less the price of a cinema ticket. It helps that the film is firmly back on themes that Allen has done so well in the past – matters of the heart, of passion, of love, of lust, of marriage. The whole film plays in its entirety just like one of the many "discussion" scenes where the characters discuss these matters over coffee etc and it is this consistency that makes it such a joy because what we see minute to minute engages and that is pretty much what we get from the film as a whole – but not as a sum of the parts but as the whole producing the same as the parts but in a different way. This interests me and it is delivered with a colour and flamboyance that somehow never takes away from the intelligence and thoughtfulness behind the writing; I'm not sure how he did it because the narrative is so wild that it could easily have been silly, but he holds it together without it even looking difficult.

The use of a narrator concerned me at first – particularly since I had just seen Allen S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G everything out in big dialogue chunks in Cassandra's Dream but on the contrary here the narrator is used to link and mostly compliments by being droll and being a great voice (good casting job there). The cast are what will attract an audience to this film and, beyond them just being some very big names, they are all excellent. Bardem is just so effortlessly sexual and sensual that he perfectly fits Allen's writing of this passionate, creative love versus the steady and frankly dull love of Messina's Doug. Hall essentially takes the traditional Allen role but makes it work more than others trying it have done. She doesn't take the mannerisms so much as getting the character right and she is the heart of the film, thrown between passionate love and reliable love. No question which Cruz represents and she does it really, really well. Out of sight for the majority of the film she strikes like a thunder storm, totally wild and full of fire – but not to the point where she is unattractive or not tempting, which would have taken away from what she was trying to be. Johansson is easily the least of these talented names but even she does well; I won't say brilliant but she was good. Again, Welch was a good choice for narrator and I always enjoy Clarkson even if she has limited times to shine here.

Allen's direction is really good in regards the actors but of equal note is how he and Spanish cinematographer Aguirresarobe have delivered Barcelona to the viewer. The city contributed towards the making of the film and on the evidence of this it will be money well spent. The city looks beautiful, with great landscapes, plenty of colour to match the passion and a real sense that this is a place where art, passion and inspired sex is all around. Beyond being just wallpaper, this is of course a key part of the film's world and it is another part of the reason that this hooked me so easily.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona will likely be gushed over in the same way that any recent Woody Allen that isn't rubbish is hailed as a "return to form" etc. On this occasion though, such praise is not a knee-jerk but fully deserved. The film is intelligent, passionate, comic, free-flowing and enjoyably light. It looks the part and the cast take the natural, smart script and make the absolute most of it. I guess if you dislike Woody Allen then none of this will matter but to those that even have a liking for his better work, this film will hit the spot. It has been a while since I have had the words "excellent" and "Woody Allen film" together in the same sentence, but this is an excellent Woody Allen film.

On vacation in Spain two American girlfriends meet a tall, dark and handsome artist who satisfies their needs in unexpected ways.

A curious little romance that putters along until about the halfway mark, when the introduction of a new character adds some tension and darkness. The sensibility is middle class - safe and responsible - so nothing really dramatic is promised and the story resolves on a minor note: not too comfortable, restrained in emotion.

The performances are good, particularly from the ex-wife. Locations are idyllic. Music is gorgeous. Only complaint is the odd voice-over of the narrator, which lords it over the story and is very much tell-don't-show.

Overall: fairly interesting, fairly engaging.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is the story of a four people struggling to understand what love is or what the feelings they have mean. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are Americans spending a summer in Barcelona. They meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) a painter who embodies the concept of European free love. They fall into an unusual love triangle, complicated by Vicky's engagement. It gets even more complicated when Juan Antonio's crazy ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) is thrown into the mix.

What makes Vicky Cristina Barcelona different from most love triangle movies, is that there is no animosity between the characters. They are not in competition with each other, they are merely trying to find themselves. Everyone gives a great performance, particularly Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz. Woody Allen is working in his element here are makes a few choices that are unorthodox, but effective. Most notable is his use of a narrator throughout in the manner that was common in the 40s and 50s. The narrator relays plot points that could be conveyed in a quick scene, but rather that interrupt the flow, they are narrated in transitions.

Who wouldn't like this film, and what's not to like? You have three of the most beautiful actresses working this century in Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz and Rebecca Hall, traipsing across some of the most gorgeous landscapes here on planet Earth.

And they're kickin' it with one of the coolest dudes in Javier Braden.

Oh, and it's summertime.

In Spain, in case you didn't catch that.

Look, some movies are just good for the ride, or cruise.

Like a vacation.

I'll tag along.

Oh, there's twists and turns and bumpy roads a strange bedfellows, but I don't mind.

I'm just taking it all in and falling deeper in love with Rebecca Hall, who shines the brightest as per usual.

Thankfully, the elder director isn't in front of the camera in this one with these young actresses falling for him.

Movies don't have to change your life all the time, but can they take you some place nice for under two hours?

Yes, they can.

And this one does.