Rating: 
Summary: This has a plot like early Almodovar, sans the frantic....
Review: ...stilleto heeled Frankie puts out a butt thrown out of the apartment window of Cassandra, ex-Kalamazoo-an, translator cum novelist living in the pre modern splendor which we currently know as Barcelona. Frankie's from the States, she does not speak the language, but she's gotta find her man, Ben, right away. Would Cassandra agree to asking around in the local language and sniff out Ben's location? There's a grand in it off the top, two grand if the party is located...plus expenses. At first Cassandra balks, but one evening while trying to focus, the prattle of family and kids has her fed up and she voices her complaint to the landlady who, by the way, reminds her she's two months due on the rent--who, by the way, is also mother of the offending children. The land lady cuts Cassandra's light out, so she's forced to find the stillettoed one's number to take up on the job. Cassandra does a couple of days worth of snooping, take a few pictures and Viola! She's found the dude. It was the SF jacket that gives it away! And this is the beginning of her entire headache with the couple. Gaudi Afternoon is a very funny movie with several unexpected twists and turns. Marcia must've gotten tired of the jokes about her name, so...you get the Frankie construct. Lili reconstructs her Solanus, but softens the touch. We get to see how beautiful Barcleona is and finally the film veiwer begins to realise that this is a strange, but sweetly touching film. If you haven't seen this, see it. The ideas in this film may come very close to offending you, but watch it, anyway. It works out nicely in the end and you will enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: close to God Afternoon
Review: As well writen as you can get. Unflawed. Deal with it. It is flawless!! Beautiful!!
Rating:
Summary: A DELIGHT
Review: Found the video by accident, but what a pleasant diversion. JUDY DAVIS and MARCIA GAY HARDEN together! And such a delirious plot! Perfect? NO. Got some inconsistencies, OKAY. In a world of overblown, overhyped, overmarketed disappointments, this was an unexpected delight.
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Summary: Certaintly not your average hollywood comedy flick
Review: Gaudi Afternoom is what you could call an alternative piece of comedy . Set and filmed entirely in Spain , the movie is sharp , witty and full of dark humour . More of a film-noir if you'd like to categorize it , it's been carried by a group of talented , underrated female actors . Davis is excellent in the lead role and so is Marcia Gay Harden ( in her most unusual part yet ) who is been provided with more than a couple of poisonous lines to work on by the script . The female versus..."female" scenes are all great yet the best one of all is when Harden and Taylor try to convince a little girl that they can compromise with each other and get over their differences , all in return for her precious love . Certaintly not your ordinary hollywood comedy flick , this spicy film waits for you to discover .
Rating:
Summary: Marcia Gay Harden is dazzling!
Review: Gaudi Afternoon is a gem, most notable for its beautiful cinematography. A truly colorful film, not to mention a very colorful script...and, of course, a colorful cast.Judy Davis is wonderful, Marcia Gay Harden is dazzling, Lili Taylor is superb, and Juliette Lewis is irresistibly sweet! Gaudi Afternoon's originality shines; a rare find that deserved a LOT more credit than it received. I'm definitely buying this one on DVD!!
Rating:
Summary: An Offbeat Popcorn Movie
Review: Gaudi Afternoon is based on the book by Barbara Wilson and for the most part stays pretty faithful to the characterizations created in the book. This isn't your ordinary Hollywood mystery involving guns, violence, and car chases. It's more about the people. Because this movie was so well cast, we come to like and care about the characters fairly quickly. Judy Davis, especially shines as the sexually repressed translator, Cassandra Reilly. Davis does some amazing acting with her eyes, breathing, and facial expressions. Almost as good is Marcia Gay Harden who has most of the best lines in the movie (and the juciest role, too). The supporting characters played by Lili Taylor (indie movie queen) and Juliette Lewis are also very good. The Spanish location is almost a character, too, lending the film its noir and intrigue. The plot revolves around frustrated translator Cassandra Reilly, who finds herself blocking over her latest project, and the mysterious woman named Frankie Stevens who rescues her from her dreary life at the moment. Frankie comes to Cassandra to ask for her translation assistance in locating her ex-husband, Ben. From this basic plot point, the rest of the story unfolds at a comfortable clip. Though most of the movie is just plain entertaining, it does try a little too hard at times to make some points about unconventional families. At these moments the movie gets sappy and seems just a bit too earnest. Thankfully these times are limited. Minor plot details seem a tad unrealistic and at times some of the characters, especially the ones played by Taylor and Lewis, devolve into stereotypes and charicatures, probably because they're not as well-developed as the two leads. But, for the most part this is a fun, quirky, and offbeat movie. Pop yourself some popcorn and sit on a cozy couch to watch it and be entertained.
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Summary: Love This City, Love These People, & Love Judy Davis !
Review: Gaudi of the title is, of course, Antonio Gaudi, one of the most famous architecht of the world, and you may remember the unique form of The Church of Saglada Familia, in Barcelona. This film follows the journey of Cassandra, amateur translater turned amateur detective, who wanders in the maze of sexuality in this beautiful city situated in Catalonia. But don't misunderstand here. This is an off-beat comedy, so you see no blood or dead body. Actually, it is delectable Judy Davis you will see, and as Cassandra she is at her best since her role in "Children of Revolution." Cassandra, born in Missigan, is now living in a narrow apartment in Barcelona, where she landed some years ago. She is making her ends meet by translating a Spanish book into English, but finds herself no longer capable of the job. Facing the danger of eviction, she meets a mysterious visitor Frankie, who asks her to find a person named Ben. Reluctantly she accepts the offer, but it is only the begining of her new life among the colorful, unconventional people living in this city. I refrain from mentioning the further development of the story, because there are many twists and turns in it. Not that the story is difficult to follow; rather, you will find the film is challenging our concepts on sexuality and family. Director Susan Seidelman (known for "Desperately Seeking Susan," one of the decent films Madonna made) knows what she is doing, presenting the portraits of characters as unique as Gaudi's works, and many of them will easily and elusively slip away from our ideas about gender, which are formed from their outward looks. So, relax and enjoy the complicated web of sexuality, and as Judy Davis's character is, you will be always comfortably deceived. As I said, Davis is superb, and Marcia Gay Harden is also effective. You see Juliette Lewis (as April, always with some smell of illegal substance) and Lili Taylor too. For Spanish film fans, you find Pedro Armodbar regular Maria Barranco, and from England Christopher Bowen appears as a magician (whose sensual singing is a stand-out). Always pleasant, and surprising, the film keeps on going not in a straight way, like the undulating forms of Gaudi architechture. Speaking of which, you can see many Gaudi's works in Barcelona, from the distant view of Saglada Familia, to the apartment house where Judy Davis stakes out to photograph the still unknown character Ben. You may say that the city itself is the leading actor of the film, and perhaps you are right. The film is as original and free from conventional views on sex, and succeeds to make its point without being heavy or dogmatic. The story inevitably looks muddled at the end, but still the film offers something very unique, and idiosyncratic.
Rating:
Summary: A future sleeper
Review: Good performances, direction, script, cinematography, score...I wonder why this film didn't get proper release in theaters as it deserved. Anyway, distribution mysteries apart, at least it's now available in Dvd, so I strongly recommend to give it a try if you're interested in independent films. It could be described as mystery comedy in which nobody is whom appears to be. Yet, besides a plot full of surprises, I found most interesting the underlying theme and approach to these new kind of families spreading all around us, in which one or both parents are gay but with a son to raise, and how hard that may be. Though the film is not perfect, and some relationships could have been better developed, I hopefully believe this film is a true sleeper which, in time, will achieve the credit it deserves.
Rating:
Summary: close to God Afternoon
Review: Had read the book many years ago, had heard rumblings about making a movie based on the book and then nothing.... found this video by accident, and what a wonderful find. Of course, I would watch Judy Davis in anything, even a movie about cleaning stalls in Union Terminal. Marcia Gay Harden was an absolute delight. The only real flaw in the movie, to me, was the little butch. For some reason, she grated. But, still five stars for Ms. Davis and Ms. Harden. If you can find the video, rent it. Ms. Davis' facial expressions are worth the rental fee.
Rating:
Summary: Two hours well spent....
Review: Had read the book many years ago, had heard rumblings about making a movie based on the book and then nothing.... found this video by accident, and what a wonderful find. Of course, I would watch Judy Davis in anything, even a movie about cleaning stalls in Union Terminal. Marcia Gay Harden was an absolute delight. The only real flaw in the movie, to me, was the little butch. For some reason, she grated. But, still five stars for Ms. Davis and Ms. Harden. If you can find the video, rent it. Ms. Davis' facial expressions are worth the rental fee.
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