Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Head in the Clouds

Play trailer Poster for Head in the Clouds R Released Sep 12, 2004 2h 13m Drama Romance War Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
17% Tomatometer 92 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Gilda Besse (Charlize Theron) is a rising photographer living in Paris in the 1930s. She invites Guy Malyon (Stuart Townsend), an Irish intellectual, and Mia (Penélope Cruz), a Spanish refugee, to share her apartment. The trio forms a unique romantic bond. But as World War II begins spreading across Europe, their bond is broken when Guy and Mia decide to leave to serve in the war effort, and Gilda chooses to stay in Paris to pursue her career and maintain her bohemian lifestyle.

Where to Watch

Head in the Clouds

Head in the Clouds

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Head in the Clouds aspires to soapy melodrama, but gets lost in its own lather, never mining romance from its central love affair or achieving authenticity in its period setting.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (92) Critics Reviews
Nell Minow Common Sense Media This soapy saga is for adults only. Rated: 2/5 Dec 24, 2010 Full Review David Ansen Newsweek There's a whole lot of romantic and historical huffing and puffing in writer-director John Duigan's rickety epic, most all of it recycled from other films. Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel 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. Rated: 1/5 Nov 5, 2004 Full Review Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film Head in the Clouds is not perfect. It is too theatrical in its presentation and gets overly melodramatic. However, the film also does what few movies do nowadays: it presents a love story which is actually believable. Rated: 3/5 Aug 9, 2024 Full Review Jim Lane Sacramento News & Review Rated: 2/5 Aug 7, 2008 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Even as a potboiler, this melodrama is too silly and improbable to be enjoyed as trash Rated: D Oct 29, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (265) audience reviews
Olga K Haven’t yet finished watching it, and would concur with the majority of other reviews. It’s very odd, jumping around a lot, not clear where the character motivations come from, and some of the practical points don’t make sense either. Where does he get his money from - he was on a scholarship at Cambridge so he doesn’t come from money. Why did she choose to go out with men she didn’t like, without any financial need to? Still watchable in a way because these are all top class actors, and Charlize Theron at 29 is something to see. Feel a bit bad for her that she got her kit off that much though. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/24/24 Full Review Audience Member It is about a non-traditional household in the late 1930s. Gilda is rebellious, scandalous, sexy, and brave. Her friend and maybe-lover Mia is quite a character herself. She is heroic, political, and studious. A former dancer and stripper, Mia is a political idealist. She takes nursing classes to volunteer against fascism and probably against patriarchy. Guy is a shy, serious, and sensitive young man. Looking from a traditional perspective, Guy is feminine. In the relationship, Gilda is the one who always took the initiative. First, Gilda kisses Guy on the billiard table in England; next, she invites Guy to stay in her apartment in Paris. Acting like a strong "male"-like character, Gilda gives Guy a job as her assistant. Taking revenge for the physical incident with Mia, she takes a traditional male role. We see great characters whose genuine love survives the mutual betrayal on the backdrop of World War II. The director of the film, John Duigan ("Sirens'', "Flirting"), also wrote the screenplay, exploring the themes of love, the purpose of life, guilt for your private happiness and duty in front of the war. I speculated what might happen with their non-traditional household in the 1930s. Here is my possible answer. From the general public's view, their relationships were extravagant. I assume that, in the 1930s, their relationships had no future. The triangle has to be solved somehow. If the war would not happen, how could that triangle be solved? In the film, we see that Guy proposed to Gilda (and she rejected, of course); but the triangle could be solved that way. Would that be possible that Mia and Gilda marry? No, it was not possible at all. Probably, they brought Guy into the threesome to feel safer in the company of a man. I feel that though the assumption has to do with going further than the plot shows us, the war was a legitimate end for their relationships. During that short pre-war year in Paris, Gilda enjoyed her happiness with Mia and Guy. Some episodes are ambiguous, and as Stephen Holden in his review in New York Times points out it is hard to say "who's doing what to whom", but is not it so the real life?.. I recommend to watch this beautiful film. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member It was okay. Plot lacked a bit. Great scenery of France and the 40's period wear. It bothered me how Guy was a sappy dog the whole way through. Yes he was in love but get a backbone. I must have gotten an edited version because it was less than 2hr. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member A classic tale of what war can do to human beings Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member A romantic story with important world events in the background - for me too much romance, not enough background. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Head in the Clouds is OK. What are you going to do when you meet your soulmate? Even the ending is believable, although I've seen the same ending in a few WW 2 movies. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Head in the Clouds

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Zelary 74% 91% Zelary Watchlist Captain Corelli's Mandolin 28% 50% Captain Corelli's Mandolin Watchlist In the Land of Blood and Honey 57% 47% In the Land of Blood and Honey Watchlist The Messenger 90% 75% The Messenger Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Gilda Besse (Charlize Theron) is a rising photographer living in Paris in the 1930s. She invites Guy Malyon (Stuart Townsend), an Irish intellectual, and Mia (Penélope Cruz), a Spanish refugee, to share her apartment. The trio forms a unique romantic bond. But as World War II begins spreading across Europe, their bond is broken when Guy and Mia decide to leave to serve in the war effort, and Gilda chooses to stay in Paris to pursue her career and maintain her bohemian lifestyle.
Director
John Duigan
Producer
Michael Cowan, Bertil Ohlsson, Jonathan Olsberg, Jason Piette, Andre Rouleau, Maxime Rémillard
Screenwriter
John Duigan
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Dakota Films Limited, Magna Films
Rating
R (Sexuality|Nudity|Some Violence)
Genre
Drama, Romance, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 12, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$398.2K
Runtime
2h 13m
Sound Mix
Surround
Most Popular at Home Now