​FILMS

barcelona christmas night

Love Actually 2...in Spanish!

2016 review number 2:

Barcelona Christmas Night: (Romance/Comedy/Drama): 66 out of 100: If you're a fan of Love Actually, you should enjoy this Spanish equivalent where an ensemble cast appears in several stories with none of them linked.  If you couldn't stand that film then it's best to stay away from this! Some stories are more entertaining than others so as a whole, the film just doesn't quite gel but there are still some enjoyable scenes that will make you feel romantic.

 

There are five stories that appear throughout the film: 1) Carles (Miki Esparbé) and Laura (Bárbara Santa-Cruz) have just had their first baby and discover that adapting to the new love in their lives is nowhere near as easy as they thought it would be. 2) Grandma Carmen (Montserrat Carulla) has some news to tell her family about her new relationship at a Christmas gathering. Unfortunately, her loved ones won’t be as crazy about the object of her affection as she is. 3) Adrian (Cristian Valencia) and Angel are room mates who share everything but sharing a girl in a threesome might prove a little more difficult. 4) Desperate romantic Oscar (Àlex Maruny) is on a mission and that is to have a one night stand without falling head over heels in love. 5) An unexpected encounter with a mysterious French woman will bring the memory of love back into Jaume’s life after almost 50 years. (Synopsis courtesy of Filmax International)

 

Don't make the mistake I made of sitting close to the screen as it's difficult to focus on the visuals and the subtitles at the same time. The director, Dani de la Orden, has many of his actors in close-ups which means that you'll miss quite a fair bit of the acting while you read the subtitles, of which there are many as all the stories lend themselves to plenty of conversations.

 

Setting the film in Barcelona allows for numerous beautiful shots of the city. You'll fall in love with the city while seeing the movie even if you don't fall in love with the characters. All the actors do well with their characters but due to the nature of the stories floating in and out of the movie, you don't really get the chance to settle in with any of them.

 

Barcelona Summer Night was made in 2013 and also featured multiple stories. These types of movies are usually enjoyable but nothing about them makes them compulsory viewing. For me, they're adequate time-fillers that are mostly enjoyable at the time of viewing, but ultimately forgettable.

 

Starring Aina Clotet, Vicky Luengo, Àlex Maruny, Alexandra Jiménez, Alberto San Juan and Miki Esparbé

(105 mins)

Parental advice: Coarse language, sex scenes, sexual references, drug use and adult themes

Additional scene during or after credits: No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7OsE1pmFxo (Movie trailer)

 

(Reviewed on Monday 4th January, 2016)

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