January 5, 2009 8:21 pm
[ vicky cristina barcelona. ]
i recently viewed “free pegasus”, the second skate flick by brian lotti. as you might know i was a big fan of his first production “1st & hope”. but i have to say i was a bit disappointed by its successor. on the plus side is the soulful skateboarding in a beautiful city and good vibes. but “free pegasus” lost the ease of “1st & hope”. maybe because it is more story driven which feels very stale and constructed. american bohemians enjoying what they feel is the european less affair lifestyle: love, art & culture, good food and partying.
the funny thing is: the whole movie reminded me of woody allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” movie. not only because of the same location, barcelona. the whole visual appearance with its warm yellowish colors looks similar. and it plays with comparable sounds and themes. this movie too had this american bohemian cliché, but i interpreted it as woody allens cynical approach.
what’s special about skateboarding is that you don’t need no actors, artists, storybooks or certain continents to create pure art with it.
and regarding the european skate scene, this might be a good example.
movie reviews always lies in the eye of the beholder and maybe i got it all wrong. just watch it by yourself and make up your mind. i really respect brian’s efforts and look forward for his next project.