Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Kat and I saw Woody Allen's new movie yesterday and enjoyed it, despite a few "whuh?" moments. In brief, no spoilers, it's about two close friends (Vicky [Rebecca Hall] and Cristina [Scarlett Johansson]) who spend the summer in Barcelona and go on very different journeys of self-discovery (mostly of a romantic nature). Part of the story revolves around Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) and his emotionally volatile ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz, who is in less of the film than you might think).

The movie provoked some serious conversation between us at Starbucks afterward, and then later in our condo's jacuzzi. We thought the stars did an excellent job navigating Allen's complex storylines and penchant for ambiguity; I empathized with Johansson's character, having been a bit of a searcher myself earlier in life, while Kat understood Hall's character (even though she made different choices for herself than Vicky ultimately did).

Interesting film--not necessarily on Allen's short list of all-time greats, but still entertaining, thought provoking and insightful all at once.