Tardes de Gaudí

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!

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.

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.

Don't look for this title at your local homogeneous family video chain. This sadly overlooked indy film by director Susan Seidelman is best found in an "alternative lifestyle" venue in the nearest large city.

Yes, there are (gasp!) lesbian and trans-gendered characters, but this film does not dwell on their minority status, nor does it minimize them into the caricatures we've come to associate with cinematic depictions of such persons. They're merely caught up in the mystery into which a lonely, embittered, female literary translator finds herself involved.

Revealing much more about the plot would be to water down the viewer's perspective of the unraveling mystery, but I can promise a very satisfying experience for fans of the genre. The only detriment might be toward the end, when things suddenly accelerate, as if the filmmakers realized they were running out of stock, the editors realized they were running overlong, or perhaps both.

And Susan Seidelman certainly does know how to get the best performance out of her locations. As "Desperately Seeking Susan" captures mid-80s lower Manhattan, and "Making Mr. Right" shows Miami at its best, so does "Gaudi Afternoon" display the intricacies of the Spanish city of Barcelona, and the Gaudi-designed apartment building from which it draws its title. Without Madonna sucking the life out of every scene she's in, and without the somewhat contrived plot that bothered science-conscious viewers of "Making Mr. Right," Seidelman finally succeeds in assembling a cast, plot and setting worthy of her talents.

Somebody will have to explain to me why this movie hasn't gotten more recognition. It is an absolutely delightful, wacky comedy, easily the best thing Susan Seidelman has done since "Desparately Seeking Susan". Judy Davis is great as usual as the people-avoiding translator who gets involved in a very unique domestic squabble and Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor and Juliette Lewis are wonderful as the dramatis personae in said squabble (which turns out to be much weirder than it first seems). Harden's curvy, campy Frankie is especially memorable. It's a great film that makes strong points about the unpredictable nature of love without preaching and setting it in the Gaudi-designed wonderland of Barcelona makes it even more special. If anybody in America had seen this movie, it would have gotten raves from a lot of film critics. Certainly it's funnier and warmer than 99% of the well-known romantic comedies that have played in the States lately.