Last week I watched the Woody Allen film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." I'm late once again, ya'll. And for all of you that haven't seen the movie, it's basically about two girlfriends who spend the summer in Barcelona on holiday. One, Vicky, is very reserved, self-assured, and confident that she knows exactly what she wants out of life, which happens to be married to her equally level-headed, yet boring fiancee she left behind in the States. Then, there's Cristina (Scarlett Johannson) who is a beautiful (though both women are attractive-no homo), free-spirited woman that doesn't know what she wants out of life, just what she doesn't want. So, there we have two seemingly different women who are soon to find a common factor between the both of them, a Spanish painter, Juan Antonio, who they both develop feelings for. Vicky, being the rational one of the two, is very suspicious of Juan Antonio's forward nature, quickly writing him off as some "Don Juan" who wants nothing more from the two women than to warm his bed. But Cristina, the daring and might I add loose one is instantly drawn to him, eager for the opportunity to get close to the man.
Eventually, though, Vicky unexpectedly warms up to Juan Antonio and develops feelings for him after a night of indiscretion, only to keep it concealed from Cristina. Feeling guilty about betraying her fiancee and noticing the blossoming romance between Juan Antonio and Cristina, Vicky decides to put her feelings for him on the back burner. Soon after, Juan Antonio and Cristina become a couple and Cristina decides to move in with him. Their relationship is great until Juan Antonio's temperamental ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) abruptly re-enters the picture.
After the initial resentment of Maria Elena's return, Cristina becomes comfortable with her presence, and she, Maria Elena, and Juan Antonio become lovers. Meanwhile, Vicky's fiancee flies to Barcelona, convincing her to agree to an early wedding. In my opinion, she marries in an attempt to forget about Juan Antonio and because she's afraid to deviate from her "responsible" ways to pursue a man she spent only one night with who happens to also be the boyfriend of her best friend. Anyway, eventually the threesome becomes too much for Cristina, and once again in her life she decides that that type of relationship is something she doesn't want. So, they break up.
Later Vicky and Juan Antonio meet by happenstance at a party and it's almost like a second chance for her. She had the opportunity to seize the relationship she really wanted but chose not to out of fear of what she couldn't even name.
I'm getting to my point now.
By this time the summer had come to an end and both women returned home the same way they came. Vicky returned to the States a woman driven by rationale and reason. But what the viewer learned was that although Vicky knew what she really desired (Juan Antonio), she didn't go after it. On the other hand, Cristina the adventurous one, once again involved herself in a whirlwind affair only to find that it wasn't what she wanted. And I had the feeling that that type of situation would only be a re-occurrence in her life.
Conclusively, my thoughts about the film are that though I don't condone infidelity or multi-partner relationships, Vicky, especially, forwent an opportunity for true happiness and contentment. We only have one life to live, people. We might as well go for the things we really want because if we settle, we're not only being unfair to ourselves but to the people who are actually content with us. And in Cristina's case, if we don't figure out what it is in life that we want, we probably will never find it.
Think about it.
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