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MOVIES / ON DVD / HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
Head in the Clouds

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Head in the Clouds (2004)

15%
14%
47%
N/A
N/A
N/A
15 %
Reviews Counted: 85 Fresh: 13  Rotten:72 Average Rating: 4.3/10
Rated: R
Runtime: 2 hrs 12 mins
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. Sony Pictures Classics presents HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, written and directed by John Duigan... [More]
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 [Less]

Genre: Dramas

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

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

DVD Info

Release:

Jan 25, 2005

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region (unknown)
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. John Duigan - Director
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurette - 1. "The Making of Head in the Clouds"
  • Trailers - 1. Sony Pictures Previews

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Full Review | Comment
08/16/07 03:16 AM
Derek Adams
Time Out New York
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Even as a potboiler, this melodrama is too silly and improbable to be enjoyed as trash

Full Review | Comment
10/29/06 09:32 AM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

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Full Review | Comment
02/09/06 03:16 AM
Time Out
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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 | Comment
03/09/05 05:50 PM
Tim Appelo
Seattle Weekly
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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 | Comment
02/23/05 02:02 PM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image

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

Full Review | Comment
12/18/04 10:39 PM
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
12/11/04 10:41 PM
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
12/03/04 02:48 PM
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
12/03/04 12:44 PM
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune
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ends up underwhelmingly episodic and contrived

Full Review | Comment
11/17/04 02:56 PM
Jules Brenner
Filmcritic.com
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Full Review | Comment
11/16/04 10:38 PM
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
11/05/04 02:34 PM
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
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It's the worst performance by an Oscar-winning actress since Catwoman.

Full Review | Comment
11/04/04 03:11 PM
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly
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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 | Comment
11/02/04 09:35 AM
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press
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...a well-made, visually distinctive period piece that's nevertheless a complete bore almost from start to finish.

Full Review | Comment
10/31/04 10:16 PM
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
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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 | Comment
10/29/04 07:33 AM
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Ratings Image

The passion barely simmers, let alone rages, which may vex some viewers and will certainly confound the tabloids.

Full Review | Comment
10/22/04 03:59 PM
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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There's no life in its historical mush.

Full Review | Comment
10/22/04 03:57 PM
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies
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Great, gooey, hot-fudge sundae of a love story.

Full Review | Comment
10/22/04 03:56 PM
Leah McLaren
Globe and Mail
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There's plenty of eye candy -- gorgeous scenery, gorgeous costumes, gorgeous people -- to keep the viewer from minding (too much) the Olympic leaps of faith required to invest in the film's plot.

Full Review | Comment
10/22/04 03:53 PM
Teresa Wiltz
Washington Post
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• Head in the Clouds at AskMen
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