Posted: 04/24/2006

Americano

(2006)

by Aaron Riccio

A Hopper family experience…

Americano begins with the beauty of a man, a bull, and a pink cloth and then travels into the countryside of Spain, from the rush of Pamplona’s bulls to the pure adrenalin of love. Director Kevin Noland’s traditional love story, that of an American foreigner falling for a classic Spanish beauty is nothing new, but it entwines with the beautiful scenic cinematography and perfect musical flourishes to make the entire effect dizzying.

The key to any love story is the chemistry between the two leads: in this case, Joshua Jackson is extremely lucky to be with the beautiful Leonor Varela. He hardly needs to act (though of course, he certainly can). They have wonderful frisson, and in between those moments are shots of the beautiful landscape, and through the relationship of his two traveling companions, Timm Sharp and Ruthanna Hopper, a reminder of what waning love looks like, too. This contrast between romances—just like the contrast between the bar, “Americano,” the urban city life of Pamplona, and the beautiful country—serves the cultural aspect of this film up on a platter, right beside the bull testicles and assholes.

Also featured in the film is Dennis Hopper, who plays—wait for it—the insane owner of the watering hole, “Americano,” the kind of bar where midgets participate in the Running of the Pit-bulls while the reckless youths down glasses of Absinthe. The role of the bar seems to be to serve as a balance two forms of exotic life in Spain, that of the urban culture, and that of the countryside. One is compressed, and one is wide-open, but both look like great fun, so long as you’re willing to keep your mind open. It’s not wholly necessary to have the Americano, but it’s certainly entertaining, just like the film itself.

The one place that Nolan falters is in living up to the promotion for Americano: “Do what scares you.” Nothing about this film seems frightening: it is so captivatingly shot, so tender, that even the brutal Fiesta de San Fermin (Running of the Bulls) looks like a lovely communal experience (which some would say it is). I can certainly think of more frightening things than falling in love with someone who loves you back equally. Far better to bill this film with the truthful closing line: “The story of our life, in the end, is not our life. It is our story.”

Aaron Riccio is a theatre and film critic living in New York City. You can catch up on Aaron’s latest at his blog here.

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