''Gaudi Afternoon'' is a 2001 American-Spanish

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

starring

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...

Marcia Gay Harden Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. She is the recipient of accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. Born ...

Lili Taylor Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films ''Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...

, Juliette Lewis,

Christopher Bowen Christopher Bowen (born 20 October 1959) is a British actor. Bowen was educated at the Cathedral School, Llandaff, Radley College, and Magdalene College, Cambridge University. He trained at the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol and spent three ...

and

Courtney Jines Courtney Elizabeth Jines (born May 4, 1992) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is best known for her roles as Demetra in '' Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'' and Amanda Wilkinson in ''Because of Winn-Dixie''. In 2012 Courtney fou ...

.TV Guide Online review
/ref> The film is based on Barbara Wilson's detective novel and directed by Susan Seidelman.

Plot

Cassandra, an expatriate American book translator (

) living in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, who is hired by a mysterious woman, Frankie (

), to locate her missing husband so he can sign some important papers. Nothing Frankie says is true: the husband turns out to be a woman, the issue isn't legal papers but a child's custody, and even Frankie's most obvious identity, in red cape and red pumps, is a false front. But Cassandra keeps at it, at first to earn her promised fee, and then to help Frankie, then Frankie's ex, then the child. Along the way, this solitary and somewhat disconnected and bewildered writer frees herself to finish a novel and re-establish a broken relationship with her own past. Barbara Wilson's novel is the winner of a British Crime Writers' Award for Best Mystery Based in Europe and a Lambda Literary Award. The story is a high-spirited comic adventure that works issues of sexual politics into a madcap plot. The city of Barcelona is a lively party to the film and book's action.

Release

''Gaudi Afternoon'' was the opening night screening at the 25th San Francisco International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. It was selected as the closing night film for the New York LGBT Film Festival, the Western and Southern Australian Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Miami International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and the Sydney Women of the World International Film Festival. It also played at

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

and the

Mar del Plata International Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fes ...

, among many other venues. In 2002, the film had a theatrical release in Europe, South Africa, Australia and Japan. After a short run in New York City, it played on TV and DVD in the US.

References

External links

* 2001 films 2000s mystery comedy-drama films English-language Spanish films Films directed by Susan Seidelman Lesbian-related films 2001 comedy films 2001 drama films Spanish comedy-drama films Spanish mystery films 2000s English-language films {{LGBT-film-stub