Barcelona: A Love Untold


Barcelona: A Love Untold is a 2016 Philippine romance drama film, directed by Olivia Lamasan, starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. The film was produced and released by Star Cinema and was released on September 14, 2016.
The film was awarded Best Picture at the 65th FAMAS Awards in 2017.

Synopsis

Ely can't get over his past love. In Barcelona, he juggles work with his studies as he aims to get his master's degree. He then meets Mia, a girl who sees Spain as a fresh start. After a series of mistakes in the past, she abruptly uproots herself from life in the Philippines to move forward and start anew. But the question is how? Together, they will go on a journey to find the answers to their lifelong questions, such as proving their worth, confronting the past, finding their way and allowing self-forgiveness.

Cast

Main cast

The theme song of the film, "I'll Never Love This Way Again", was originally sung by Dionne Warwick. There are two versions of the song: one was covered by Gary Valenciano and also by Jona.

Release

The film was released on September 14, 2016 initially in 230 cinemas and was expanded to 250 cinemas for its second day and eventually in 320 cinemas for its succeeding days. The film was screened in the United States and Canada starting September 23, 2016 in 69 cinemas. It earned approximately $434,000 in its first 3 days of showing in North America. After 10 days, it had earned $1,100,000. In its first weekend, the movie made $182,952 in the UAE, with a total gross of $229,849 after 3 weeks of showing. In Australia and New Zealand, it made $41,585 on its first weekend of screening, with a total gross of $59,000 after 2 weeks of screening.
Due to popular demand, it was extended up to four weeks in the USA, Canada, UAE, Australia and in Barcelona.

Critical reception

Oggs Cruz of Rappler gave a mixed review, calling it "a beautiful film" but also "dull and ineffective" and that it "feels too mechanical, too designed to work." Yet he complimented the "overflowing" musical score. Philbert Ortiz Dy of ClickTheCity.com rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying "the is just oddly constructed all around. There’s just so much to address, and the movie just doesn’t seem willing to do the work to give all these issues the time they need." Nazamel Tabares, a movie blogger for Movies Philippines, also rated the film 2 stars out of 5, saying that "there’s nothing new in the film and nothing worth keeping after seeing." Je C.C. of Philippine Entertainment Portal said of the film, "Still falling into the pitfalls of Star Cinema cliches, Barcelona: A Love Untold becomes a film of blemished beauty, but that is fine." On the other hand, Rod Magaru, an entertainment blogger, rated the film 9 out of 10 and called it a "masterpiece of 2016." He commended Carmi Raymundo for the way she wrote the flashbacks and added that "it is one of her best." Edmund Silvestre, New York correspondent for Philstar Global Entertainment wrote, "Barcelona is an enchanting tearjerker."
A film review published in Bandera of Philippine Daily Inquirer noted that Barcelona: A Love Untold is not just a kilig movie, giving it 8 out of 10 points. Maureen Marie Belmonte of Push said Barcelona: A Love Untold marks a new era for Kathryn and Daniel because it makes moviegoers appreciate them not just as a bankable love team, but also as bona fide dramatic actors who have successfully gotten past their teenybopper roles.

Box office

The film earned ₱23 million on its first day of showing surpassing Imagine You and Me for the highest opening-day gross for a Filipino film for the year. The film earned 130 million pesos on its fifth day of showing. On its twelfth day of release, the film earned a total of 200 million pesos. By 4 October, the film had already grossed at least ₱300 million.
The film gross ₱321 million as of 8 October

Accolades