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poster of Barcelona
Rating: 6.211/10 by 76 users

Barcelona (1994)

During the 1980s, uptight Ted Boynton is a salesman working in the Barcelona office of a Chicago-based company. He receives an unexpected visit from his cousin Fred, a naval officer who has come to Spain on a public relations mission for a U.S. fleet. Not exactly friends in the past, Ted and Fred strike up relationships with women in the Spanish city and experience conflicts -- Ted with his employer, and Fred with the Barcelona community.

Directing:
  • Whit Stillman
Writing:
  • Whit Stillman
Stars:
Release Date: Fri, Jul 29, 1994

Rating: 6.211/10 by 76 users

Alternative Title:

Country:
United States of America
Language:
Español
English
Runtime: 01 hour 40 minutes
Budget: $3,200,000
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: navy, spain, barcelona, spain, expatriate, cousin cousin relationship, 1980s
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Chris Eigeman
Fred Boynton
Tushka Bergen
Montserrat Raventos
Mira Sorvino
Marta Ferrer
Núria Badia
Aurora Boval
Jack Gilpin
The Consul
Thomas Gibson
Dickie Taylor
Pere Ponce
Young Doctor
Laura López
Ted's Assistant
Diana Sassen
"Shootings in America" Woman
Àngels Bassas
"Jazz" Woman
Elisenda Bautesta
"USO Bombing" Woman
Andrea Montero
1st Trade Fair Girl
Paul Degen
Jurgen: "People not ants"
Paca Barrera
Plain Princess
Nico Baixas
Hangar Trumpeter
Gerardo Seeliger
Dr. Ribo - Weekending Doctor
Mercè Puy
Hospital Nurse
Rosa Grifell
Hospital Nurse
Francesco X. Canals
Marta's Other Guy
Juan Martinez-Lage
Terrorist Gunman
Isabel Ruiz de Villa
Sevillanas Dancer
Montserat Zubiria
Sevillanas Dancer
Gabriela Tubella
Cool Barcelonan
Leopoldo Pomés Jr.
Cool Barcelonan
Ana Sans  
Cool Barcelonan
Elizabeth Sans
Cool Barcelonan
Carina Murtra
Cool Barcelonan
Helena Garrabou
Cool Barcelonan
Nacho Fontcuberta
Cool Barcelonan
Silvia Loewe
Cool Barcelonan
Florencio Sueldo
Cool Barcelonan
Toni Priante
Cool Barcelonan
Inés Ventós
Cool Barcelonan
George H. Beane
Prof. Thompson
James Shaw
Schoolboy Actor
Stillman Finley
Schoolboy Actor
Gordon Pennoyer
Schoolboy Actor
George Sim Johnston
IHSMOCO Salesman
Russell Pennoyer
IHSMOCO Salesman
J. Harden Rose
Audiotape voice
Jonni Bassiner
Catalan Businessman
Alexander Mantel
Young Ted at lake
Gavin Kovaks
Young Fred at Lake
Wayne Carney
Jack of IHSMOCO

tmdb28039023

“Do you know what Dr. Johnson said? Guests, like the fish, start to stink on the third day.” “In fact, I think you'll find that I start to stink on the first day.” This exchange exemplifies the good and the bad about Barcelona; it’s full of acerbic Johnsonian sarcasm beautifully channeled by Chris Eigeman, but the third act feels more like the third day, with all that this implies. The film, about two young American cousins ​​and their misadventures with the female fauna of the titular city, has another problem. The cousins, Fred and Ted, are skillfully and competently played by Eigeman and Taylor Nichols, respectively — Nichols's forced verbal tics only manage to make him seem like an ersatz Woody Allen (unusual for for writer/director Whit Stillman, who tends to evoke favorable comparisons to the legendary filmmaker), although he makes up for this with a scene described by Fred as “some weird religious ceremony based on Glenn Miller” — but the Barcelonans they get involved with are played by Australian, English, or American actresses; this is particularly jarring when it comes to the character played by Mira Sorvino, who is neither Spanish nor has the acting ability to pass for one. Applying the Italian neorealist approach, literally any randomly selected passerby on a Barcelona sidewalk would have done a better job; on the other hand, it’s possible that my complaint is irrelevant, especially considering that the females in the story are practically interchangeable. Even though he spends most of his time courting Marta (Sorvino), Fred ends up falling in love with Montserrat (Tushka Bergen); according to him, “I've seen her in all sorts of different situations and contexts” — situations and contexts that must have occurred in scenes written but not shot, or shot but ultimately cut (the script simply shrugs it off, mentioning towards the end that “We spend hours together on the phone, and she is so fascinating and charming”). Meanwhile, Ted ends up marrying Greta (Hellena Schmied), a late addition to the plot with whom Ted doesn't share much more quality time than Fred does with Montserrat. But perhaps this is precisely the point; as Ted says, “you see a beautiful girl and immediately you’re subject to all these emotions … you haven't even talked to the girl, and you already want to get married and spend the rest of your life with her”. He suffers from "a real 'romantic illusion' problem," and yearns, "instead of a fantasy built on the pretty slope of an eyebrow or the curve of an upper lip, to see the real person. Maybe even look into her eyes and see her soul." In that sense, the film is a true reflection of, as Roger Ebert put it in his review, "a vast yearning which can only be filled by a girl" that most of us experience before we reach the age of reason; sadly, Fred doesn’t seem to outgrow this juvenile yearning during the course of the film, and there is no indication that his relationship with Greta is less based on ciliary sloping and/or lip curvature than on the "real person."


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