I love words. I love the simplicity and the complexity of them. When a person sits down to write words and convey things that we may not know how to convey; the way that they can leave us with a beautiful memories and sometimes even leave us with pain we can learn from. Words are complex.
Someone hated words and the execution of them in this movie.
When the words that we have in our minds are brought to life, sometimes we have to suspend ourselves from what words mean to us. In To Barcelona, With Love, I had to do just that. If I hadn’t, I knew I would be here, throwing a fit and asking why words seemed to be taken for granted.
See, I have been around books for the greater part of my career, and what happens in this movie with a rewrite of a book was hard for me to take. I know, I know – it’s only a movie. But sometimes – even though it’s “only a movie” – you want there to be some accountability for the words that are being conveyed.
In To Barcelona, With Love, “Sweeney plays Erica, an American expat living in Barcelona who translates novels into Spanish, though her dream is to be published herself someday. Anna (Williams) is the American author of the book Barcelona, Mi Amor which became a big hit after Erica’s translation. Due to its local popularity, Anna comes to Barcelona for a book signing event. Her arrival not only catches the attention of local bookstore owner Nico (Alejandro Tous), for whom Erica has long had feelings, Anna’s appearance at the store threatens to bring to light Erica’s secret – she took liberties with her translation to improve the story and infuse it with the local authenticity it was missing. As the two women become friends throughout Anna’s visit, they ultimately help each other embark on a path to find their true happiness.”
Let me digress, and let’s get into it.
THE BOOK ISN’T SELLING
In Boston, Anna, played by Ashley Williams, has written a book. It’s entitled, ‘To Barcelona, With Love.’ After having a first book that is a hit, Anna assumes that her second one will be a hit too. Only her agent takes her to a bookstore to show her that her book is on the bargain table.
People don’t like it.
Anna doesn’t understand why. She doesn’t get what is happening because she thinks that her first book’s success would just carry over. Only, it’s not that easy. There is one place in the world where her book is selling, though – Barcelona. This is ironic because this is where the book is about.
And people say that her book feels like she’s never even been to Barcelona.
Meanwhile, in Barcelona, Erica is living. She’s an expat who loves living in Europe and has found her calling being a book translator. Anna’s book that isn’t selling? Well, when Erica translated it, she took some liberties and rewrote the book. She definitely captured Barcelona in the book, as she lives there.
Anna had believed that she would capture the realness of Barcelona by researching on the internet. She hadn’t been able to do that. It made sense that the book was doing amazing in Barcelona because of Erica’s rewrite.
But this is where I take issue. The “rewrite” that Erica did during the translation. Her taking that liberty and not telling anyone was just so wrong. The way that it came out and both Anna and the publisher accepted it infuriated me. Writers are putting their entire soul onto the paper and having someone rewrite their soul – just can’t vibe with that.
Do I know that things happen in life, and this could be something that happens that we (the public) don’t know about? Sure. But seeing it in a movie and it just being disregarded in a way that felt so inauthentic – removed me from the movie and made me mad. So, I had to take a step back and allow myself to suspend reality while still being upset at this plot point.
What can I say, I take certain things really personally.
THE ATTEMPTED LOVE TRIANGLE
Sweeney’s character Erica has been single for a bit. She’s had her heart broken and doesn’t know how to tell Nico (the bookstore owner) that she has fallen in love with him. Especially after Anna arrives. Nico is enamored with Anna and her words, leaving Erica feeling jealous.
Now, Erica isn’t about to tell Nico about rewriting the story and that the words that he’s fallen for are hers. She’s watching Anna fawn all over Nico and thinks that she’s missed her chance. To Erica, the way that the story is unfolding, Anna and Nico may end up together.
Erica doesn’t seem to be doing anything in this movie but keeping secrets and acting like she’s a victim. I do get that her life is kept under wraps by an NDA with the publisher, but also, there are things that she’s doing that are making me question if that is what she’s doing. I think that Sweeney is doing her best to make Erica seem strong and yet vulnerable, but it’s not coming across that way.
Erica is coming across as a person with no remorse for the choices that she’s made, but instead a lot of excuses. She has no regrets, even though she should have regrets. She should be saying her apologies, but she has no apologies to give.
With both Ashley Williams and Alison Sweeney in a movie, I am not sure what I expected, but I didn’t expect that I would have trouble with it. It’s obvious that the writers didn’t want you to dislike any of the characters, but then it feels like the characters weren’t well-rounded.
THE ISSUES WITH ANNA
Anna seems to have no issue with Erica rewriting part of her book. It’s confusing. But it’s also very confusing that she would want Erica to be a part of her life, knowing what she’s done.
Yes, even disassociating with it a bit – I can’t get over that part. I can’t move past Anna’s indifference to a lot.
Ashley Williams is a brilliant actress, and I think that is something we can all agree on. Her infectious smile, no matter the character that is something both addictive and inspiring. It’s just that with Anna, the character felt all over the place, and you could tell that Anna didn’t know who she was. Williams managed to play that convincingly, but I wanted something more from her character.
We found out that Anna liked writing about food and was really good at it. It was where her voice came alive. It was where the character came alive. Anna seemed to want to make her voice come alive, but was also very unsure how to do it. She seemed to have a hard time finding value in herself and what she was good at.
ST. JORDI’S DAY
Going to be honest here, I have never heard of this day, and if I have, I have forgotten about it. But giving people a book and a flower on this day is very important. It signifies being in love or really liking someone.
Nico has asked Anna to write a short story that they can have bound and will only be sold on this day. As we watch her try to write, I wish we had had more time to actually see her writing. Because the shots of her writing were less than intriguing.
I wanted to feel the passion that both Erica and Anna have for the written word, and I feel like that was missing. Everything related to writing or books felt meh.
On St. Jordi’s day, Erica has felt like no one has liked her because she doesn’t get a book or a flower from the ones that she wants. We find out that Nico hasn’t made his move because he thought that Erica didn’t want him.
The relationships have a way of working themselves out in this movie, which, hey, grateful for. It’s just that I was also let down by the movie. A lack of chemistry between the characters and a lack of making me fall in love with Barcelona (which I expected to happen).
Passport to Love is a cornerstone in Hallmark’s programming and something that I look forward to every year. Not experiencing the normal passion and romance in this movie, which I expect from a Passport to Love movie, felt disappointing.
It wasn’t from a lack of trying – it was from a lack of believing in the premise and the execution in the story. I wouldn’t say that it wasn’t a movie to watch… it just wasn’t the movie for me.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Alison Sweeney, when she looks distressed, reminds me of Kim Kardashian crying
- This movie felt all over the place, and I hated that for me because I get what Hallmark is trying to do with the movie
- Will I watch the sequel? Absolutely. I have faith it will get better.
- Erica and Nico are a ship I can’t get behind because I didn’t believe in it. The two had no chemistry
Was mistaking Erica’s name for Emma intentional? Either way, I concede your points. This was far from Hallmark’s best. I found Anna too impulsive and too willing to eventually play along. When you add in her inability to describe anything other than food, I wondered how I was supposed to see this character as a writer.
As for Erica, she loves writing and you see her pout every time someone compliments Anna for her book, and yet she completely misses the point in why it was critical to Anna to write the short story. Anna is left wondering if she has anything to say and whether her first book was completely a fluke. Yet there’s Erica bemoaning how much she wishes she could get published and be able to take credit for her own work. She’s completely incapable of realizing how she has injured Anna. This makes her apologies feel more out of habit than sincere.
I did feel chemistry between Erica and Nico. Personally this was the worst attempt at a Cyrano trope. I was horrified when they didn’t even bother to go inside of La Familia (perhaps they were not granted permission) and found a surprising lack in focus on Barcelona itself.
OMG that’s embarrassing – the Emma part. I was talking to my friends kid – Emma when I wrote it. I was so tired I didn’t realize it. Sorry about that. Thank you for letting me know though. I don’t disagree with what you said at all either. I love Passport to Love, and i love that they are making franchises with their leading ladies, but this one – there was just too many things that took me out of the film. I hate that for all of us.