Woody Allen is back on form. Two of his familiar New York types - the uptight brunette contrasted with the free-spirited artistic blonde - are transplanted to Barcelona (which looks beautiful and eccentric). Over the summer among passionate Spanish artists their lives are changed, briefly. All of this is done with the usual Allen-style narration, emotional distance, and wit.
Rebecca Hall (Vicky) and Scarlett Johansson (Cristina) both give authentic performances. Hall as the wound-up masters-student who's engaged to be married and faces challenges to her mapped-out life. Johansson embraces the mediterranean lifestyle but ultimately her core remains unshaken. They both become involved with the same artist, Juan Antonio (Xavier Bardem), whose ex-wife, María Elena (Penelope Cruz) soon re-appears. Cruz is a stunning life force, who leaves no one unaffected by her influence.
When the film finished, after watching all the loving, eating, and drinking, we had to go across the road from the Kino for a glass of red and share a plate of antipasto in Cafe de la Paix - perfect
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