source: Gaudi Afternoon

Moviecut—Gaudi Afternoon

Gaudi Afternoon

I just saw this a while ago and really enjoyed it. Judy Davis plays a translator of Spanish books who lives in Barcelona, Spain. By accident, she gets involved in a custody battle between Frankie (Marcia Gay Harden) and Ben (Lili Taylor). When you meet the disputing parents of the adorable little girl Delilah, you learn that nothing is what it seems. I won't give any spoilers away. If you like really different films and interesting stories, I think you'll like this one. I really loved the Dean Martin music...it just seemed to infuse the film with a sense of mystery and eccentricity both.

This is one of the most confused and confusing movies I saw lately. It is meant to be so, certainly. An American expatriate is hired to help a compatriot find her husband in the 'foreign' city of Barcelona. Soon, we will discover that none of the two is what he/she/it? seems to be... The collection of characters in this movie is 'borrowed' from the Almodovar movies landscape. However, while the genial Spanish director succeeds to be shocking and human, surprising and moving us in each scene, here we are only confused - from the beginning to the end. The scenic beauty of Barcelona is filmed with the sensibility of a tourism clip, and nothing justifies the title. No Gaudi (meaning no art) and no afternoon, as the movie spreads in a succession of days, without too much logic. Some of the critics of the film have over-evaluated the movie. To me, it seemed to be a failure. 5/10 on my personal scale.

"Gaudi Afternoon" is all about Judy Davis as a single writer in Barcelona who is retained as a translator to find a man and becomes embroiled in a messy situation involving a kid, a dyke, a tranny, a bi guy, and a lesbian. Davis makes a solid centerpiece for this confused little dramedy which seems to be grasping for creative substance when one hour into the film they conjure up a whole cabaret song and dance bit complete with magic trick which contributes nothing to the story. A lackluster film, "Gaudi Afternoon" sports a good cast, a good location, and little else. (C+) Note - The version of this film I Tivo'd had subtitles for Spanish to English translations. However, the CC, which did not translate the Spanish, overlayed the subtitles obscuring the Spanish translations.

So you want a movie where a heterosexual woman gets inside a detective story set in a queer underworld, so to speak. She is not heavily shocked, but rather bemused, mostly, as the situations and the people she meet are not really very dangerous. If this sounds good, then I suppose this movie is for you, as it has some unusual characters, but it seems friendly to everyone, including the viewer. I found it funny and charming.

Judi Davis is wonderful in this film as she is in all of her movies. I saw this on ShowTime and it had 3 stars, but I would have watched it just to see Judi Davis. I have never seen Judi Davis in a comedy before, but to see this rather intense woman react when she is thrown into a mix of crazy people is wonderful. I WAS turned off by the description in the movie guide: a woman searches for her crossdressing husband -- yet another transvestite. But this script throws a curve in the form of Marcia Gay Harden whom I had never seen in a film before. I won't tell you just WHO this distressed wife in search of a renegade husband really is, but Harden is hysterical. To analyze this farce would destroy the the magical journey it takes you on. All the actors are just great and all are playing against type. I have seen about 20 movies in the past month, and this one stands in a class of its own. I give it a ten for making me laugh, and a ten for a crazy cast of characters.

I was curious to see this film because of Judy Davis and Marcia Gay Harden being in it. I was surprised, then, to see Lili Taylor and Juliette Lewis as well. The acting was admirable on all accounts and Judy Davis played a tough and curious literary woman translator that Davis was able to make likable despite the character being repressed and brittle. The story worked up until near the end when things got a little ludicrous concerning people meeting up and then the child disappearing and it seemed weirdly frantic at some points. For the most part it was an enjoyable film with surprises now and then. I was quite surprised to learn after I looked up some information later about this film that it was directed by Susan Seidelman as I've liked her work in the past. It's good to know she still has a flair for creating films about women who are put in situations where they begin to questions their lives so far and the decisions they've made.

From the opening credits, a marvelous montage of organic elements rendered in a very Gaudi-esque style, I had a sense that this would be a quirky and fun film. I was not disappointed. If you have ever lived as an expatriate, you will immediately identify with the Judy Davis character. The terrific soundtrack captures the lure of Catalonia, especially the signature tune, "Sway (Quien Sera)" written by Norman Gimbel and Pablo Beltran Ruiz and sung by Dean Martin. There is no nudity or sex in this film and the fact that the characters aren't hetero is only a plot device and is not otherwise significant. Surprisingly, Juliette Lewis is the weakest performer of the entire cast. Extremely enjoyable!