‘Fated to become a cult classic’: why Barcelona is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers detailing their most pleasurable comfort films is a trip to 1980s Spain courtesy of Whit Stillman An hour into Whit Stillman’s 1994 film, Barcelona, the protagonist, Ted Boynton (Taylor Nichols), considers using “maneuver x” in his stalled romantic life. He’s an American working in the Spanish branch of an auto conglomerate, looking for love in the titular city’s post-Franco, sexually liberated nightlife. As Ted explains to his cousin Fred (Chris Eigeman) –...

By Ryan Chapman