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      Head in the Clouds

      R Released Sep 12, 2004 2 hr. 13 min. Drama Romance War List
      16% 91 Reviews Tomatometer 61% 5,000+ Ratings Audience Score 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. Read More Read Less
      Head in the Clouds

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      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.

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      Audience Reviews

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      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 Audience Member All the beautiful and the daring are here. Why wouldn't I love this movie? Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      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 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 Tim Appelo Seattle Weekly 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. Rated: .5/10 Mar 9, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      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
      Executive Producer
      Peter James
      Screenwriter
      John Duigan
      Distributor
      Sony Pictures Classics
      Production Co
      Magna Films, Dakota Films Limited
      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
      Sound Mix
      Surround