During the 1980s, uptight Ted Boynton is a salesman working in the Barcelona office of a Chicago-based company. He receives an unexpected visit from his cousin Fred, a naval officer who has come to Spain on a public relations mission for a U.S. fleet. Not exactly friends in the past, Ted and Fred strike up relationships with women in the Spanish city and experience conflicts -- Ted with his employer, and Fred with the Barcelona community.
Writing
Stillman's hyper-literate banter nobody actually speaks.
Acting
Chris Eigeman's magnificent smugness as Fred.
Production
Barcelona as gorgeous, sun-drenched character.
Director
Whit Stillman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Stillman wrote Barcelona partly from his own experiences selling cartoons in Spain during the 1980s, hence the oddly specific sales subplot.
The film captures a specific moment of 1980s European anti-American sentiment around Reagan's 'Star Wars' missile defense program, which Fred defends with spectacularly bad timing.
US
