Barcelona

Barcelona (1994) is Whit Stillman's romantic comedy-drama, and you can watch online on iFILM. In the late 1980s, two American cousins collide in the Spanish city just as local anti-American feeling is running high. Uptight salesman Ted already works there when his naval-officer cousin Fred turns up, in town on a fleet public-relations job.

Ted is buttoned-up and earnest; Fred can't stop talking, and his talk is the problem. He spins absurd stories about Ted to the women they meet — claiming, for instance, that his cousin is secretly into leather and S&M — and the tall tales only make the shy Ted more intriguing. Taylor Nichols and Chris Eigeman play the pairing of fussy moralist and restless provocateur, with a young Mira Sorvino among the women in their orbit. Friction builds from every direction: Ted with his employer, Fred with the city itself.

This is the second piece of Stillman's loose trilogy about a certain talkative urban set, a director whose characters debate manners, faith and love in clever, faintly ridiculous monologues. It's a treat for fans of dialogue-driven independent cinema. Stream Barcelona (1994) online on iFILM.