Gaudi Afternoon (2001)

Set in Barcelona, a Spanish to English translator (Judy Davis) is approached by a mysterious woman (Marcia Gay Harden) from San Francisco and offered a large sum of money to help find her missing husband. Almost broke, she is unable to resist the large sum of money but she soon finds herself caught in a web of mistaken identities, double crosses and kidnapping among a group of lesbians, transsexuals, bisexuals and drag performers. Based on the award winning mystery novel by Barbara Wilson and directed by Susan Seidelman (DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN). This quirky off kilter movie would seem ideal fodder for Seidelman based on DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN but what the film really needed was Pedro Almodovar who would have given the movie the impudent wit and madcap nuttiness it needs. While I can appreciate the film's daring (for its day) gender bending politics, one doesn't get the feeling that Sieidelman loves her spirited misfits the way Almodovar does. The film's title seems to be a homonym. It identifies the architecture of Antoni Gaudi prevalent in Barcelona but also the films' gaudy characters. The cinematography of Josep M. Civit is quite handsome as is the film's main title sequence created by Juan Gatti. With Juliette Lewis, Lili Taylor, Christopher Bowen and Courtney Jines.