Beyond the Clouds | |
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Italian theatrical release poster
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112 minutes |
Country | Italy, Germany, France |
Language | Italian, French, English |
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Beyond the Clouds (Italian: Al di là delle nuvole; French: Par-delà les nuages) is a 1995 Italian-French-German romance film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and Wim Wenders and starring John Malkovich, Sophie Marceau, Vincent Perez, Irène Jacob, and Jean Reno. The film consists of four stories of romantic love and illusion told from the perspective of a wandering film director. In the first story, two beautiful young lovers are unable to consummate their passion because the young man desires impossible perfection. In the second story, the director follows a woman who reveals that she murdered her father. In the third story, a man makes an effort to appease both his wife and his mistress. In the fourth story, a young man is romantically infatuated with a woman who is soon to enter a convent. This was the final feature-length film by Antonioni before his death in 2007.
The director (John Malkovich) is flying to Italy following the conclusion of his latest film. On the airplane, as he looks out beyond the clouds, he begins to think about his next film and the art of filmmaking. Upon landing, he drives through the night through thick fog, with people appearing and disappearing like apparitions.
In Ferrara, Italy, Silvano (Kim Rossi Stuart) meets Carmen (Inés Sastre) and asks her where he can find a room for the night. She directs him to a hotel where she is staying. After checking in, Silvano sees her in the hotel restaurant and joins her. Silvano learns that Carmen is a teacher. They are attracted to each other, but they retire to their separate rooms. She undresses and waits for him, but he never comes. The next morning, he finds that she has checked out of the hotel.