 |
Woody Allen's latest comedic effort, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" takes place in lovely Barcelona during the summer. His erudite group of bohemians entertain themselves to death, close to literally in some cases.
A reviewer suggested that this is a Woody Allen version of an Eric Rohmer film. Yes I can see the resemblance, and in fact it really does look like Allen got the inspiration from the great Rohmer.
But, Allen is too slack. This makes his overall effort unrealistic, and I really couldn't help the bouts of laughter I tried to suppress (unsuccessfully - no-one else was laughing!) I never laugh in Rohmer's films, although they are extremely comedic - the joke being at us. I think he manages to tap into a universal folly, characteristic of all humans.
Allen's characters, on the other hand, just remain on the screen and don't translate further (out to me, at least). Still, I liked this little film.
Allen's ending was callous, I thought. He left his characters hanging. This is something that Rohmer never does. His films exude generosity, often at the end, despite how silly and irritating his heroines (they are often female) may be. Rohmer acts like the patient parent, who will watch us through all our antics, and will still love us for who we are.
Woody Allen was just a tiny bit mean-spirited.