Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are that well worn joke, American tourists (although way more glam than those usually pilloried) in a beautifully captured Barcelona. They are propositioned - simultaneously - by Javier Bardem's charismatic artist Juan Antonio.

Vicky, engaged to a preppy, square and well-to-do New Yorker, is essentially the offspring of Annie Hall and Alvy Singer; totally neurotic and mouthpiece for some of Allen's best lines. Cristina is dreamier and more impulsive, searching for a means of self-expression and constantly flirting with various artistic mediums. Obviously, she jumps at the chance to tag along with the hunky Spaniard. Enter his emotionally unbalanced ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz), who also happens to be an artist. The unconventional, apparently contented threesome prompts Vicky to wonder what she is missing out on by marrying fiance Doug (a very funny Chris Messina, whose character surely defines the word 'chump'). Is it true, as Maria Elena argues, that 'only unfulfilled love can be romantic'?

This most honest of movies seems to suggest that to a degree this is true, but the plot's most resounding truth lies in its ending and other kinds of unfulfilment: the pragmatic Vicky takes refuge in stability; Cristina continues searching for something emotionally meaningful. Despite all the laughs, the movie tackles the subject of emotional satisfaction with seriousness and the balance is always just right: the results of Vicky and Cristina's holiday prove realistic, painful and funny for them both. Allen's always been great at fusing the tragic and the comic and it's gratifying to see he's still got what it takes after years in the critical wilderness (from an audience's perspective, Anything Else perhaps said it all in the title). Aside from being very funny and having the majority of the theatre laughing pretty much consistently, this movie was also surprisingly sexy. Although still brimming with Allen's trademark intellectualism, VCB is notable for a definite erotic charge which may stem from the fact it is set in such a deliciously sensory city: Barcelona's architecture, al fresco dining and good wine all seem to have injected a shot of life into Allen's directing in the same way as his beloved New York did for so long, but with an extra spice.

No one is left unmoved by the tempestuous Spanish pair, least of all the audience. Maybe I am more susceptible than I'd like to think, but player that he is, I was charmed by Bardem's sexy artist. However perhaps like Cristina, I was even more taken with Cruz: she managed to channel both Sofia Loren and a psychopath - no mean feat. Johansson plays the same character she pretty much always plays, but she looks absolutely beautiful and it's indisputable that the camera adores her. Hall is more typical Allen material and seems to have more range. All three women including Johansson do justice to the script and craft strong female characters which are up there with some of Allen's finest. The three women he's written for this movie, whatever their actions and behaviour, are strong and memorable cinematic creations.

Yes, there are areas which seem clumsy. Juan Antonio's works of art, for starters. The notion of Spanish artists hanging around Park Guell sketching is about as credible as thinking that all Londoners walk past Big Ben on their way to work (see Match Point). The dichotomy between the passionate Catalans and uptight New Yorkers could also be seen as reductive, but I'd counter that by reminding detractors that one of the finest novels ever written, EM Forster's Room with a View, sets up a similar contrast between impetuous Italians and repressed English people on holiday in Florence. Allen seems aware of such literary lineage and the narratorial construct he employs works very well, often adding an extra layer of humour. He also manages to captivate us with Barcelona's seductive beauty and do so in a way true to the lived experience of the tourist. Barcelona exists as another character and is a pleasure to feast your eyes upon. I'm not sure that this movie has made my mind up about Maria Elena's aforementioned statement one way or another, but I can say with confidence that the critics are right - VCB represents a remarkable and long awaited return to form for Allen. Highly recommended.