Beyond The Clouds is a
film by
Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni. It tells the story of a film director (
John Malkovich) who goes to
Europe to conceive of his next film, and the people and lives he encounters along the way.
There is no real plot, as the film follows these many different lives in a series of vignettes with Malkovich, whose character is based loosely on Antonioni himself, tying everything together. The characters share stories of love in it’s many incarnations: unrequited, lifelong, unresolved. The film is one of the most beautifully photographed I have ever seen. It is said that Antonioni spent years and years trying to accumulate the necessary funds to make this film exactly as he wanted it. Some of the shots in the film are so incredibly well orchestrated that I will probably never be able to figure out how they were done. Others are simply sheer beauty. The score is also incredible, featuring contributions from Van Morrison, Brian Eno and U2.
Beyond the Clouds was codirected by Wim Wenders and also features performances by Fanny Ardant, Vincent Perez, Irene Jacob, Peter Weller, Sophie Marceau, Marcello Astroianni and Jeanne Moreau. It was released in 1995 and is 109 minutes in length. Not Rated. To watch it is the bathe in serenity.