The Trip to Spain

The third film in which two actors tour a country. Steve and Rob set off again for a newspaper. This time the route is Spain: they start in Cantabria and work south to Andalusia. Six restaurants and a long drive lie between. The structure is the same as before: long conversations at the table, competing impressions and the effort to outdo each other. In this one the reference to Don Quixote comes forward and the two place themselves inside that story. The matter underneath is ageing. Both are near fifty; Steve's career has stalled, his agency has dropped him and the project he is writing is going nowhere. Rob's family is not with him but his life is more settled. The talk keeps returning here. The ending goes somewhere different from the others in the series and caused argument. It was again shot as a television series and cut down for cinema. Michael Winterbottom directed. A familiar instalment for anyone who likes improvised comedy and road films. For a viewer expecting something new, the structure repeats for a third time and some sections are not as fresh.