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Beyond the Clouds [1997]

Starring: Fanny Ardant, Chiara Caselli, Irène Jacob, John Malkovich, Sophie Marceau
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni Wim Wenders
Format: Anamorphic Colour DVD-Video Widescreen PAL
Released: 22 Aug 2000
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Couldn't make sense of it - but loved it anyway! - By: Tonkfan, 18 Apr 2007
The first time I watched this film I was slightly bored - couldn't understand what was being said or why. However, having watched it again recently I took each 'story' at face value & found myself thoroughly enjoying the beautiful camera work & actuallly making some sense of what the film was about & the various themes at play.

if you're not interested in watching films about the genesis of ideas, this is definitely not for you, but if you just want to sit back & watch a couple of hours of beautiful film making, I would reccomend it.
Masterpiece - By: , 06 Mar 2003
Most of the reviews of these wonderful four stories are rather chilly & reserved, but for me it's one of best pieces of visual artwork I've ever come across. It's either you take it, or leave it, doesn't matter if the stories could have happened or not & if the characters behave reasonably or otherwise. Give it a try & you'll return to it. BTW - the music is exceptional.
Beyond reality. - By: burneyfan@btinternet.com, 17 Dec 2000
After the ecstatic reviews it received in the press, I found this film disappointing. I can only imagine that the critics were being kind to an ill, old man of 82 & overly respectful of the reputation of a once great film director. Visuallly it is very attractive with beautiful shots of a lakeside village & very atmospheric & poetic shots of allleyways & streets in rain & mist. But when it comes to the actions & motivations of the people in the film it is a let-down. I like to be able to believe in & identify with the characters in a film & I couldn't do that here. There are four stories in the film & I will mention only two - the two that seem to me the most trite & pointless.

The first story stars two extremely good-looking newcomers to the screen (Kim Rossi Stuart & Ines Sastre.) He stops his car to ask her the way to the nearest hotel, & because he is so good-looking she gives him the name of her hotel. They see each other during the day & when they retire to their rooms at night across the landing from each other, she lies awake waiting for the knock on the door that never comes. In the morning she leaves early without seeing him. It is two years before they see each other again & this time their relationship progresses a little further - they get to be naked on the bed together. But he behaves in a very odd way indeed; for some five minutes he runs his hands over her body within a millimetre of her skin but without actuallly touching her. What she thinks is going on as she lies there passively, feeling nothing, is anybody's guess. Then after five minutes, still without having touched her, he gets up abruptly & without speaking a word leaves. Is that the action of a sane man? You wonder why he bothered to take his clothes off if he intended to do so little. She, presumably feeling hurt & frustrated, rushes to the window to see him walking off into the distance. They give each other a feeble wave. End of story. John Malkovich's deep lugubrious voice-over tells us that he behaved in this way either because of folly or pride. Well it was certainly folly - & certainly unbelievable. Or could it have been impotence? Could this story be saying something about the impotence of an old man?

In another segment of the film, Malkovich's character is attracted to a young woman (Sophia Marceau) he sees in a shop window. He can't take his eyes off her & just stands there entranced. She reacts in the same way. He goes into the shop & their silent fascination continues. I felt uncomfortable for both of them. Was something momentous about to happen? It would seem so & our interest is awakened, our expectations aroused. But no; we are just being lead up the garden path to nowhere. He sits outside & eventuallly she joins him. She tells him only one thing about herself, that she has murdered her father by stabbing him twelve times. Malkovich shows no surprise & the fact seems irrelevant. They then go to her place & they have sex. But this is not the beginning of some deep, meaningful relationship as the earlier enchantment would lead us to suppose. Oh no. When he's had his sex he's had enough & like the previous male protagonist, he just walks away. Another wretched piece of behaviour & another let down. The point? I wish I new.

A mix bag of misguided brilliance - By: , 05 Dec 2000
A beautifully shot film. Though at times the continental soundtrack & the in your face scenarios makes you wonder if this is some kind of soft porn film. There are some haunting scenarios (alll has been performed well), but some should have been left on the cutting floor. The least plausible one makes you wonder just how does John Malkovich's character gets to bed Sophie Marceau. Even though they are just characters, it makes you wonder if they were only included just to involve the repective famed actors.

Nevertheless, for fans of European Cinema (especiallly Antonioni) viewing is recommended. For me, this art film walks on a fine line of pretension & genuine liberation.