Barcelona [Widescreen]

An off-beat and ironic talk-fest from director Whit Stillman, this is a dry, insightful comedy about two American cousins in post-Franco Spain. Ted Boynton, an overly serious salesman, who is in the midst of recovering from a broken relationship and questioning his vocation originally inspired by an Arthur Miller play, is suddenly faced with the arrival of his arrogant navy cousin Fred. What ensues is a series of intensive bar crawls where the cousins encounter a group of women from the Trade Centre, one of whom Ted promptly falls in love with. A study of the life and attitudes of two Americans abroad underlies this comic romantic tale through which the film takes on a more serious satirical tone. As the film progresses, the ineptitude of Ted and Fred to integrate with the values of the culture they inhabit is only exceeded by the anti-American sentiment in Spain which the characters do not remain untouched by, but are slow to recognise. This film will no doubt appeal to fans of Whit Stillman’s characteristic distanced play between amusement and substantial critique.