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new ground, although the relationship between Juan Antonio and Maria Elena achieves a kind of beautiful sadness -- they have the kind of romantic history Hollywood swoons over, but as Maria Elena once said, "only unfulfilled love can be romantic."
But I'm making it sound a bit too treacly -- the movie is also consistently funny.
Allen's main victory here, which he shares with the actors, is to make recognizable types, even stereotypes -- the handsome foreign guy, the pretentious American tourist, the fiery Spanish beauty -- become real people we care about.
The summer slowly ends. Vicky learns a bit about herself. Cristina learns less. We're as happy to see all the sights of Spain as they are. It's a solid, very watchable movie.
Movie Grade: B+
Synopsis:
Two girlfriends (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson) on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter (Javier Bardem), fully unaware that his ex-wife (Penelope Cruz), with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
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