[.ca] Barcelona (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
Writer and director Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, The Last Days of Disco) offers up this poignant and cutting romantic 1990 comedy set in the magical southern Spanish metropolis, a city in the midst of cultural and political upheaval. Taylor Nichols (Metropolitan) plays an American living in the Catalonian capital working for a stateside company. He is visited by his unctuous cousin (Chris Eigeman), a naval attaché who's in Barcelona to spin a little public relations for the impending arrival of the U.S. fleet amid some virulent left-wing, anti-American attitude. The two cousins are constantly at odds, arguing about everything from politics to women to their true feelings for one another and their constant self-examination. Largely the two men spend their time in search of romance abroad, as they humorously overanalyze the women they meet and what they want from a relationship, until fate takes a shocking turn and both men are forced to reevaluate who they are and what they want out of life. Barcelona features a turn from Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) as a Spanish national working as a hostess, free with her sexuality and smitten with Eigeman. Stillman's writing is as crisp and observant as his striking visual take on the city and its people, both natives and expatriates. Barcelona is a terrific comedy of attitudes and culture clashes that manages to be offbeat, sardonic, and unexpectedly wise. --Robert Lane

interesting, sometimes violent film:
Ted is an American sales rep living in Barcelona when his extroverted over-the-top cousin Fred arrives in town. Fred is a naval officer, and it is 1992, a time of rampant anti-Americanism in Spain due to the end of the Cold War. The two American relatives meet some lovely Spanish women dressed ip to go clubbing in Marie Antoinette costumes (that in itself is interesting). Marta (Mira Sorvino) starts dating Fred while Ted starts dating Monserrat. Except Fred decides he likes Monserrat too. Fred is a very funny character -- when his cousin Ted is dancing, he tells the women "See that odd expression on his face? It's because he likes to wear leather underwear and it is chafing him." (Ted is merely dancing with one of those weird expressions guys make while dancing.) This is Barcelona before the Olympics, and the times and political climate come into play. It is interesting to watch this but be warned, the violence is graphic -- someone even gets shot in the face.

Spanish Chicks-- All Right:
I'm often dismayed by ideologues and their certainty. When Europeans complained about bully Americans during the Iraqi Liberation, or during the Cold War, they always said that the CIA or the Zionists blew up their own embassies or Twin Towers in a Macavelion plot to take over the world. Barcelona has the Spanish intelligencia parroting anti-American nonsense, but when two cousin's, different as night and day, chase Spanish chicks all over a disco city in the late 70's after the end of Franco, well, witty dialogue and self-depreciating comedy commences along side serious political violence. The Spanish girl's are bed-jumpers and unbelievably beautiful in this film, charming. The guys are preppy leftovers from Walt Stillman's "Metropolitan," the story of preppy school guys in Manhattan and the girls they get drunk. So preppy American guys meet sexually liberated Euro-Pinks and you get a mildly satisfying film. But Barcelona, the city is very, very, enticing, beautifully filmed.

Humorous and Intelligent:
I don't know what Whit Stillman is doing these days, but I sure wish he would get back to film-making. His last feature, "The Last Days of Disco," was probably his most accessible and mainstream and I thought he would soon reappear with yet another film, but he seems to have disappeared off the landscape. For my money, of the three films he has made, "Barcelona" is his best. Stillman probably never will be a huge box office success in any of his endeavours. He is almost an acquired taste. His movies are dialogue driven and if you don't have an ear for dialogue, they may seem boring. But his dialogue is crisp and original and moves the story along. He forces you to listen if you want to enjoy the film and apparently a lot of people don't want to have to pay close attention in order to understand what is going on. The plot? Taylor Nichols is an American living in Barcelona and working for a stateside company. He is visited by his pain-in-the-butt cousin, Chris Eigeman, a naval officer who's in Barcelona to prepare for the arrival of the U.S. fleet during a time of very anti-American attitudes. The cousins are constantly at odds, as they have been since early childhood, arguing about anything and everything, including politics, women, and their strained relationships with one another. Neither of them is very good at judging women, often to their detriment, and their relationships with women area theme predominant throughout the movie. Eigeman arrives and moves in with his cousin. Nichols just wants his cousin to leave; Eigeman pretens to not understand his cousin's animosity. They constantly carp at one antoher to great comic effect. Mira Sorvino plays a Spanish national who works with Nichols and has a fling with Eigeman. Events take an ugly turn when Eigeman, who is suspected of being a CIA spy by left wing radicals, is shot. Eigeman is hospitalized and left in a coma, forcing Nicols to admit to himself that he truly cares about his cousin and further forcing him to face some truths about himself. If you enjoy dialogue driven films, as I do, there is not much to dislike in this film. Nichols is an underrated actor (in one scene, he hilariously reads the Bible while dancing to "Pennsylvania 6-5000") and Eigeman manages to bring to life the relative we all hate deep down but enjoy spending time with just because its never dull when you're with him. Sorvino is underused but this is before her Oscar turn in "Mighty Aphrodite." Watch this first, then view Stillman's other works" "Metropolitan" and "The Last Days of Disco."

How wonderful and funny:
THis is a profound wonderful film set in Barcelona and following the hapless exploits of two cousins as they persue love and other interests in Europe. THe cousins couldn't be more different, one a reserved nerd obsessed with books on marketing and the other a swashbucking naval cadet proud of his country and disdainful of the foreigners. The best scene int he film is where a Spaniard says 'you americans kill to many people' and the cadet says 'no we are just better shots'. Other commentares abound as the american debates the left obsessed communists who complain about AMerica and spray paint 'OTAN is evil' on walls throughout the city. Definetly an enjoyable film for anyone who enjoyes europe but likes poking fun at how serious people take themselves.

A view from Barcelona:
I saw this movie when it was released and I remember as a person born and raised in Barcelona, I found that is an inaccurate portrayal of my city and its society. Like in most commercial US films, here we see that the world outside the US does not deserve a careful portrayal, just a romatized view is enough. In some parts, the film looks like a tourist brochure of the latter Francoist years: flamenco, wine, bulls and macho men. May be this is how Mr. Stillman sees us Catalans. My impression is that "Tha Last Days of Disco" is a much better movie.