Gaudi Afternoon (2001) User Reviews

A REAL GEM OF A MOVIE

[flimbuff · 7/10 · 5 November 2002]

Wonderfully, funny satire of gender bending with only a few slow parts when the screenwriter forgets we don't really need any serious moralizing in this kind of film.

Our plot has Judy Davis, as Cassandra, a sort of almost middle aged, expatriot writer living in Spain trying to finish her novel. She is hired by Frankie, a very sexy deserted wife, to track down her missing daughter because of her bilingual skills.

Things aren't exactly what they seem and we find that Frankie is actually the transsexual father of the missing child who is now living with her natural mother Ben, a lesbian, who is engaged in a 'menage a trois' with her bisexual lover Hamilton and 'their lover' April, wonderfully played by Juliette Lewis.

The confusion makes for some very funny lines that are so well played that the situation seems almost natural. The screenwriter goes somewhat adrift later on with some totally unnecessary reflections by Cassandra, who apparently has sexual identity problems of her own, but the film as a whole is just wonderfully refreshing when compared to most of today's "statement" films. Good soundtrack too.

charming, funny

[cherold · 7/10 · 31 December 2003]

I was surprised to see how much some people here disliked this movie. It's a nice little comedy with good performances, an engaging storyline and a nice pace. I notice a lot of the criticisms are from people who have a very definite idea of how such a movie should be made. Many are comparing it favorably or unfavorably with Almodovar's films, none of which I've seen, and some with the book, which I haven't read. Taken on its own, it's excellent, and Judy Davis is, as always, terrific (I feel in the same way critics want this movie to be a different movie, they want Davis to be a different character - one complained her hair was always a mess, which was sort of the point - but Davis is perfect for the character that the movie is portraying, even if she's not perfect for that movie some people feel should have been made instead).

It's also nice to enjoy something by Seidelman. She started so great and then got so awful that I gave up on her years ago and haven't even seen anything she's done in years except for one or two TV series episodes, but while this is no Smithereens (I don't think she's capable of ever doing that again) it's nearly as good as Desperately Seeking Susan. Perhaps success destroys Seidelman, and she can only make good movies when she's obscure.

Gender Bender

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 26 August 2004]

Susan Seidelman showed such promise as a film director in her first feature film. It's a wonder Ms Seidelman hasn't been given more opportunities to show her talent, especially directing films about women, which seem to be her specialty.

Spoilers herein****

Having read Barbara Wilson's novel before seeing this film on cable, I couldn't help noticing that Cassandra has been made an American for the cinematic treatment, when in reality she was not. She is not a writer, but a well known translator of Spanish literature. She doesn't rent an apartment from anyone, as she is the guest of her Spanish friend who lets her stay with her when Cassandra is working.

The casting of Judy Davis as Cassandra was perfect. She plays the part as though she's in a daze. She is the center of the story and the one that is drawn into a situation that offers her the role of a private investigator trying to sort out the main conflict.

Marcia Gay Harden as Frankie is perfect. She plays a campy role and makes it her own. The scene at the disco where her real identity is discovered by Cassandra is hysterical. Ms Harden shows her versatility playing the complex character with a lot of panache.

Equally effective is Lili Taylor, as Ben, the former partner of Frankie and a protective mother who is trying to keep Delilah, her young daughter, hidden from the natural father. Juliette Lewis, playing the flighty New Ager April is a delight to watch.

This film deserves a wider audience and Ms Seidelman should direct more often.

DESPARATELY SEEKING "GAUDI"

[jjw8 · 26 April 2003]

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.

Compelling & good acting (near the end things become a little off kilter however)

[mrncat · 7/10 · 31 December 2003]

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.

Disappointingly dull

[bighugedoug · 4/10 · 29 November 2004]

I was hoping to like this movie, to settle in for an evening of goofy fun. I like Judy Davis and Juliette Lewis, and the premise seemed off the wall enough to be entertaining.

Unfortunately, I found myself dozing over and over again. Judy Davis gave a fine performance, but had very little to work with. Juliette Lewis was fabulous as expected, but had very little to do. The plot was full of "twists" that were just plain silly, and as so often happens in movies of this type, nobody acted the way a real human being would act. And, personally, I thought Marcia Gay Harden was totally miscast.

The movie also seemed to shift about midway from a black comedy with touches of farce to a total farce with touches of black comedy. One reviewer here notes that other reviews seem to want this movie to be something different, and therefore decried it. All I can say is that I would have settled for the movie being *something* and sticking with it. This one feels like the director had some grandiose ideas but wasn't able to pull them all off. I give it a 4 out of 10.

Spanish/American comedy revolves around a writer who becomes involved into several troubles when she attempts to find a man

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 15 March 2014]

A pleasant Spanish comedy plenty of humor , amusement , emotion , twists and mayhem . It deals with a sympathetic translator called Cassandra (Judy Davis) who becomes involved into problems with a strange as well as outlandish group of American/Spanish people in Barcelona . Cassandra gets a call for help from a rare woman named Frankie (Marcia Gay Harden) who wishes she to encounter her hubby , so he can sign some important documents . Alone in a foreign city, Cassandra must resolve a family's darkest with unexpected consequences . Nothing Frankie says is true : the hubby results out to be a woman and the issue isn't legal documents but a child's custody . But Cassandra keeps at it , at first to earn her promised fee, and then to help stranger Frankie, then Frankie's ex, then the child . As her situation goes from bad to worse when she attempts to find out troubles . Along the way, this unusual woman frees herself to terminate a novel and re-establish a broken relationship.

Agreeable comedy full of good feeling , offbeat characters , haunting mood-pieces , fun scenes , a brief intrigue and sense of style but not totally satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . Director Susan Seidelman returns to top form , with an intelligent and engaging script which uses amusing situations to give us an attractive comedy in a high sense and that kept me entertained for the almost 97 minutes runtime . Some situations are laugh out loud ridiculous and the story proceeds at a breakneck speed that never flags . The flick realized in Pedro Almodovar style was criticized by the notorious ¨Saturday Star¨ as : ¨a clever story , a brilliant cast , dazzling production design .. in short , a feat ¨. Nice though overacting by Judy Davis as Cassandra, a solitary as well as somewhat disconnected and bewildered writer in Barcelona , she has to find out the deepest secrets of an offbeat family before she can confront her own past . The main and support cast is pretty good such as the stylish Marcia Gay Harden , the tomboy Lili Taylor as Ben , Juliette Lewis as April , the showman Christopher Bowen as Hamilton , and the Spanish María Barranco , Pedro Almodavar's ordinary actress . It was funny, great actors and atmospheric soundtrack composed by recently deceased Bernando Bonezzi .

Colorful cinematography by Josep M. Civit showing splendidly the Barcelona scenarios , where is set the whole film . Josep M Civit is one of the best Spanish cameramen as he has demonstrated in "The Hidden Face" , ¨Shiver¨, ¨Warriors¨ , ¨The Absent" , ¨Asphalt¨ , ¨Anguish¨ and many others . The picture shows a large sightseeing from Barcelona such as La Pedrera , Casa Mila , Casa Calvet, Casa Batllo, Park Guell, The Palau Güell, Sagrada Familia, Cathedral, Ciutadella , and usual streets and slums , among others . The motion picture produced by great producer Andres Vicente Gomez was well directed by Susan Seidelman , though he overdoes the same premise . Susan Seidelman is an expert on comedies , she is a director and producer, especially known for Smithereens , She-devil , Making Mr. Right , Confessions of a Suburban Girl , Cookie , The Hot Flashes and his greatest hit ¨Desperately seeking Susan¨.

An Almodovar wanna-be that fails miserably

[dhf66 · 1/10 · 5 October 2002]

Comparing this movie to anything by Almodovar is an insult to Almodovar. The best thing I can say about it is it tries desperately to be like an Almodovar movie and fails miserably. The script is dreadful, the characters are one-dimensional, and the performances are the quality of high-school drama (except Marcia Gay Harden's, which is pretty good, given the material she has to work with). Furthermore, the cinematography does absolutely nothing to convey the whimsical beauty of Gaudi's architecture or the infectious charm of Barcelona. If you enjoy the grit, pathos and dark, quirky comedy of Almodovar's movies, you'll find none of them here. Spend your money on something other than this waste of celluloid.

Extremely Enjoyable film!

[etherdog · 9/10 · 17 February 2003]

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!

Offbeat and quirky film

[rosscinema · 6/10 · 2 March 2004]

This is a film that has lesbians, gays, and transsexuals but it's still one that can be called lightweight. How is that possible with the abundant of unique characters? For starters it's more about how a woman views relationships and then gets caught up in a custody battle. Story takes place in Barcelona, Spain where writer Cassandra Reilly (Judy Davis) works at translating Latin American literature but is also working on a novel. Cassandra doesn't have a home except where she plugs in her laptop and she seems to be running out of cash when one day she gets a visit from a strange woman named Frankie Stevens (Marcia Gay Harden). Frankie tells her that she will pay her 3,000 dollars to locate her husband Ben who is in Barcelona.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Cassandra manages to locate the apartment complex where Ben is staying but she has only a vague description of him. She takes some snapshots and later at a club shows them to Frankie. It's there that she suddenly finds out that Frankie is actually a pre-op transsexual and that Ben (Lilli Taylor) is actually a butch lesbian and they have a daughter together. Cassandra somehow gets involved in the cat and mouse games of this pair and when Frankie disappears they're afraid that she will try and kidnap their daughter Delilah (Courtney Jines). Cassandra also is suspicious of Ben's girlfriend April (Juliette Lewis) and the gay cabaret singer Hamilton (Christopher Bowen).

This film is directed by Susan Seidelman who showed such promise in the eighties when she made "Desperately Seeking Susan". After all the years that has passed she never really directed anything but low budget films and television. She does do a good job here and if her body of work has told us anything it's that she knows how to make films about oddball female characters. The casting is very unique and Harden stands out as the transsexual. This film never dwells into anything sordid except for a couple of shots of whores in alleys and the script stays with the character Cassandra as she gets sucked into the squabbles and other events of these characters. With the beautiful city of Barcelona as the backdrop a mood for the film is created by Seidelman that suggests all these characters are alone to fix their own problems instead of going to the authorities. Also, the music that was scored for this film is played throughout and this also adds to the mood and tone. This isn't a great film and as it winds down it gets a tad overly sentimental but this is fun and unique. If your a fan of avant-garde films this is definitely worth your time but if your taste is more mainstream than this may be over your head. Offbeat and quirky film is well acted and directed but never comes across as more than a lightweight comedy.

Transcendingly Awful

[Signet · 4/10 · 4 June 2004]

Whatever Committee of PC Enforcers is responsible for this movie has achieved something that I never thought possible: to take some truly gifted actors (Davis, Hardin and Taylor) and make you want to insure you never encounter them in an enclosed space, ever. The sentiments that underlie the screenplay are so jejeune and idiotic that it is impossible to understand or imagine what audience would find this picture appealing, much less funny. Architecture students perhaps?

Only one scene is visually clever: Marcia Gay Hardin sashaying, all wriggles and rhythm, into a bar manages to exude more style and energy in ten seconds than the whole of the rest of the film added up and multiplied to the tenth power. As for the other members of the cast, they probably won't want to put this one on their resumes.

Hilarious farce/ screwball comedy with great turns by Judi Davis and Marcia Gay Harden

[HereInVA · 10/10 · 26 January 2004]

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.

No sabe

[=G= · 6/10 · 1 September 2003]

"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.

architecture of sexism is failure

[sarsak · 2/10 · 15 August 2005]

i just get exited when the movie start(because i saw Juliette lewis name on the screen).the script seemed very complicated first but as the movie continued, it became understandably clear.i concentrated well on it but the result was disappointing.because the object of sex used too much on the film unnecessarily and it seemed to me that the director ignore ones who has tendency upon opposite sex.in my opinion the well prepared script couldn't be embodied.as we look at the cast,the movie promises something in the beginning or i just expected too much... and finally the end...the end is so so much mediocre that i wouldn't expect.the main character Cassandra wants to give message about having baby and how a baby can change a life,in my opinion that scene is the real disaster for the film. all in all the characters are funny and acted beautifully.but only cast can't save a movie.

Judy Davis and Dean Martin's Sway

[drednm · 25 June 2017]

Terrific mystery story filmed in Barcelona, Spain, stars Judy Davis as an American loner who translates books. One day she meets a mysterious woman named Frankie (Marcia Gay Harden) who wants to hire her to find her husband. She can't speak Spanish (actually it's Catalan in Barcelona) and needs her help. She offers quick cash, so Davis takes the seemingly innocent job.

Instead, Davis finds herself caught up in a web of deception that includes the husband, a kid, a woman named April, and a magician. No one is what they seems to be.

Set against the spectacular and other-worldly architecture of Antoni Gaudi, the story delves into a shadowy world and teaches Davis a big lesson in,life.

As Cassandra the translator, Judy Davis brings her brittle edginess to the fore and creates a believable character who can't stop being intrigued by the bizarre people she meets. Marcia Gay Harden is a hoot as Frankie, and she's matched by Juliette Lewis as the hippie April, Lili Taylor as Ben, and Christopher Bowen as Hamilton the magician who lip syncs to Dean Martin's "Sway" in his nightclub act. Also Courtney Jines as the kid and Maria Barranco as the landlady.

Memorable film is a feast for the eyes and offers several excellent performances. Not to be missed.

No THAT bad

[newmans · 6/10 · 27 December 2003]

Nothing new, no Oscars, and a bit slow, but not all that bad. Had fun with the gender issue, but doesn't take sides nor knock anyone that bad. The usual over acting in this type of thing, entertaining if there isn't anything else you know you want to watch.

Make-believe for non-Spanish

[Pitumisio · 2/10 · 20 November 2005]

In a farcical key, Gaudí Afternoons can be taken as a mediocre exercise. Marcia Gay Harden and Judy Davis pivoted a good cast (Juliette Lewis' new-age freaky character has been incredibly taken from reality, I know an American young lady who squawks like her!!) but GA does not show much beyond its overtoned plot.

Even though movie-making is all about make believe, there were certain noticeable screenplay inconsistencies. Two samples: you pay 14 euro to enter the chapel where Cassandra and Frankie met, NEVER at 7 am, and you cannot leave a terrace without paying the bill (they'll charge you on the spot if they don't know you) or get off a taxi THAT quickly (you Americans always tip cabbies even though they don't expect to, but the sequences portrayed in the movie were ridiculous). Don't believe me, reader: come over and see for yourself.

If you've never been here before you might not care about all this, but good movies should be believable disregarding of your origin. Nobody knows about GA here, and I will make sure that does not change in the future.

A translator gets caught up in a domestic dispute

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 25 March 2014]

While silly and a little scattered, there are some likable things about "Gaudi Afternoon," a 2001 film starring Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor, and Juliette Lewis, directed by Susan Seidelman.

Judy Davis plays Cassandra, a translator living in Barcelona. She's approached by a glamorous woman, Frankie (Marcia Gay Harden) and offered money if she can locate her husband. After a few minutes of refusing her, Cassandra agrees to do the job. Frankie hands her a phone number and says she believes it's her husband's, but she needs an address to go with it. Cassandra complies.

Not so fast. Turns out Frankie actually had the address, but she needs to make sure he's still there. She sends Cassandra out with a tiny camera to photograph everyone who comes in and out, after giving Cassandra a description that could fit anyone. Cassandra figures out who Ben is (after hearing his name called) and brings the photos to Frankie, who also identifies Ben from the photo. Ben was in the photo, all right, but he wasn't the guy in the photo.

This is a gender-bender comedy with a remarkably subdued performance by the usually theatrical Davis, and wonderful performances by Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor, and Juliette Lewis. Seidelman obviously likes quirky actresses, and she sure has a few of them here.

Barcelona is a fitting backdrop and well represented, as we see Cassandra running around, following cabs, chasing people, and dealing with her noisy but friendly neighbors.

You won't see stereotypes here, the characters are well fleshed out. It's not much of a script, in my opinion, but Seidelman and the cast make the most of it. Check out Cassandra's foot massage - a funny scene for sure.

Full of missed opportunities

[Eclipse292 · 5/10 · 9 November 2004]

A great story, compelling characters, and a great city backdrop.

And 2 hours of wasted opportunities.

This film has a tremendous cast that was spoiled by bizarre directing that pressed for the melodramatic and stylized rather than a much more effective realistic approach.

Unnecessary voiceovers (an overused device in any book to movie translation) slowed the pace and underestimated the talents of Judy Davis, who, if left to do her job, would have been stunning.

The gender fluidity of the piece was lovely and welcomed- something I can say without snide remark.

The biggest disappointment in the film, however, was its waste of Barcelona itself.

This film was written as a love story for Barcelona and the city's essence is reflected in the characters we follow throughout the film. And yet, for a place so rich in architecture, vibrance, color, and local flavor, the cinematography left me deflated. For a movie named after one of the world's most influential artists/architects, there sure isn't much attention paid to Gaudi's works. Save one brief chase scene in The Park Guell, there isn't really much of Barcelona at all. Even a few transition shots would have given so much to a film wanting so badly to be an aesthetic experience.

In the end, it just seemed unwilling to commit to beauty, to sexuality, to edginess, to anything, really. In a movie seeking romance, this one is devoid of any.

Unconventional cloak and dagger...with no cloaks or daggers

[onedayatatimect · 8/10 · 9 March 2005]

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.

Unmissable performance by Harden in a stinker of a film

[dabmr · 7/10 · 11 December 2003]

I just caught this film on cable and I have a sense that I am going to remember it fondly for years to come, even though the screenplay and direction of this movie are so laughably bad. (It's going to be one of those 'Am I crazy or did I once actually see a movie about...?' kind of memories). Marcia Gay Harden gives the performance she should have won her first (or would it have been her second?) Oscar for and Juliette Lewis is worth seeing too -- she plays against type for once, and though she barely succeeds, it's certainly fun to watch. The young actress playing Delilah also makes it worth sitting through the horrible dialog, ridiculous voice-over narration and the damage Seidelman did to Judy Davis' performance (which I have to assume would have been better in a more capable director's hands). All in all, a failure, but one I HEARTILY recommend. I actually think I may go out and add it to my DVD collection.

Confused and Confusing

[dromasca · 5/10 · 16 February 2003]

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.

If You Like Almodovar's Movies This One's For You

[corvette94 · 8/10 · 16 June 2001]

Great cast, great performances, specially Judy Davis' and Marcia Gay Harden's. A funny detective-comedy with lots of twists, and outrageous, unconventional characters. Barcelona in full glory, proves to be a perfect stage. For Gaudi's architecture fans this is a must.

wasted time...and not really a hommage to almodovar

[olafwiehler · 1/10 · 5 December 2001]

some funny lines are all what makes this movie bearable. the camera tv-movie-like, the acting poor (julie davis is more than disapointing) and the directing amateurish and / or loveless. but i can understand that no one had fun to realise the overconstructed and trivial script.

soft weirdness

[m67165 · 8 December 2001]

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.