This may well be the best Woody Allen of the new Millenium. I have always enjoyed Woody Allen’s dialogues, his movies are always starring people who are not only beautiful but who can also act, and I always leave the cinema with this happy post-Woody-Allen-movie-smile. All of this is also true for his latest movie. But this one does more than that, it gives insight into the strange relation of Americans to Europe with it’s art, culture, and it’s relaxed, non-puritan attitude. Both female main actors have fantasies about what they are, what they want, and how all of their self-indulgent selves should work in the Old World, with its strange, backwards, fascinating, and arrogant inhabitants. Both women are quite different, but their problems intersect in many intriguing ways.
Somehow, I enjoyed the fact that this movie did not star Woody Allen or somebody who acts like s/he is another face for Woody Allen – and maybe this is what makes this movie even better than Scoop, the last European Woody Allen movie. In addition, both Rebecca Hall and Penélope Cruz have scenes in which they make breathtakingly strong performances. I really enjoyed this movie, which you certainly can see on the big screen. If you should somehow miss it, then I would recommend getting the DVD – even if you’re not that much into Woody Allen.
IMDb entry | Trailer
Tags: Pénelope Cruz, Woody Allen