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Movies / On DVD / Head in the Clouds
Head in the Clouds

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Head in the Clouds (2004)

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Reviews Counted: 86

Fresh: 13

Rotten:73

Average Rating: 4.3/10

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sexuality, nudity and some violence

Runtime: 2 hrs 12 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Sep 17, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $170,463

Synopsis: In a time torn apart by hatred and violence, two lifelong lovers are forced to choose between passion and personal convictions, their fate intertwined with the painful history of a world at war.... In a time torn apart by hatred and violence, two lifelong lovers are forced to choose between passion and personal convictions, their fate intertwined with the painful history of a world at war. Sony Pictures Classics presents HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, written and directed by John Duigan ("Flirting," "Sirens") and starring Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend and Penelope Cruz. Irish born Guy (Townsend) is the son of a policeman, on scholarship at Cambridge University in 1933. On a rainy night, his door bursts open and beautiful Gilda Bessé (Theron) enters his life. The daughter of a French aristocrat raised by her American mother, Gilda is somewhat notorious for her affairs, and quiet Guy lets her spend the night, treating her with respect and humor. Later, at a party, they become lovers, but Guy can't believe it will last. The death of her mother prompts Gilda to leave England, and Guy is amused years later when he spots her as an extra in a Hollywood film. Gilda writes to Guy, inviting him to Paris, where she is a rising star in the art scene with her unusual photography. She lives with the beautiful, Spanish-born model, Mia (Cruz) and has a number of lovers, but soon Guy has moved in, and life in Paris seems ideal, perfect. But it is now 1936, the height of the Spanish Civil War: Guy has always supported the Republican Army, and as Franco's fascists make gains, Guy and Mia both find themselves drawn towards the conflict. Gilda does not concern herself with politics, or history: "There will always be wars," she tells her friends, "you need to get rid of the guilt." Despite Gilda's pleas, Guy and Mia leave Paris and go to Spain. He learns to fight, she is a nurse: they cross paths one night, and Mia admits that she was Gilda's secret lover before making love to Guy. In the morning, she is killed by a land mine. Guy returns to Paris, but Gilda shuns him. Six years later, Guy is working for British intelligence, serving as a spy with the underground in occupied Paris. He is surprised to learn that Gilda is still living in her old flat – but has taken a Nazi officer (Thomas Kretschmann) as a lover. He risks himself and his underground unit to spend a night with her, but in the morning she insists that their affair is over, and she will never see him again. Stunned at her coldness, he returns to his work – D-Day is approaching, and the resistance must be ready. Expecting to meet a contact, he instead arrives at a café to find Gilda: she warns him that the meeting is a trap and helps him escape. Guy is aghast that she has taken sides, but he has no time to thank her. That night, he and his comrades destroy a rail station, but only Guy gets away. When Guy returns to London, he learns that Gilda's association with British intelligence extends back several years. Now, with the occupation over, those deemed traitorous to France are being rounded up – publicly humiliated, and worse – and Gilda knows that she will be taken as a Nazi sympathizer. Braving the fighting in the streets, Guy returns to Paris to find Gilda, racing against time and history hoping to reunite with his love one last time. -- © Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Starring: Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Stuart Townsend, Thomas Kretschmann

Starring: Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Stuart Townsend, Thomas Kretschmann, Steven Berkoff, David La Haye, Karine Vanasse, John Jorgensen, Gabriel Hogan

Director: John Duigan

Director: John Duigan
Screenwriter: John Duigan
Producer: Michael Cowan, Bertil Ohlsson, Jason Piette, Jonathan Olsberg, Andre Rouleau, Maxime Remillard
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Release:

Jan 25, 2005

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Reviews for Head in the Clouds

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N/R

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Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
10/18/08
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
Derek Adams
Time Out New York

Even as a potboiler, this melodrama is too silly and improbable to be enjoyed as trash

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
10/29/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
N/R

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Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
01/17/06
Sydney Morning Herald

Tyrone Power would have more chemistry courting Deanna Durbin in a deep coma. Theron destroys all her Monster acting cred. Cruz squeaks like a hamster huffing helium.

Full Review Source: Seattle Weekly | comment Comment
03/09/05
Tim Appelo
Seattle Weekly

If John Duigan set out to make the most preposterous, over-the-top and sweeping epic he could cobble together, then he succeeded with a vengeance.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment 1 Comment
02/23/05
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Miscast leads and ersatz emotions leave the film's soundstagey period ambiance as its most comparable asset. A handsome misfire.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
12/18/04
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

The film is emotionally distanced from its audience, too stoic and stuffy. You'd never guess a film with as much sex as this one could be so stodgy, but there you go.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
12/11/04
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

This would-be wartime epic romance is so intent on setting a dream-like atmosphere that it fails to develop either the situation or characters in a convincing fashion.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
12/03/04
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Amid scenes of silk-sheet sexuality are gritty historical re-enactments and half-baked histrionics, but it plays as drab melodrama and unintentional comedy.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
12/03/04
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

ends up underwhelmingly episodic and contrived

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/17/04
Jules Brenner
Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
11/16/04
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

The story becomes a long slog because Duigan doesn't define his characters and because he's determined to touch too many of the familiar '30s European bases.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
11/05/04
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

It's the worst performance by an Oscar-winning actress since Catwoman.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
11/04/04
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

If this film is any indication of how Hollywood is looking at history, then the turbulent events of WWII are mostly about whom you were dating.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
11/02/04
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

...a well-made, visually distinctive period piece that's nevertheless a complete bore almost from start to finish.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
10/31/04
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

I couldn’t help but feel that the movie’s primary reason for existing is so its stars could wear some fantastic period costumes.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
10/29/04
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
 
 
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