DramaRomanceWar

Head in the Clouds

- Three lives. One destiny.

Gilda Bessé shares her Paris apartment with an Irish schoolteacher, Guy Malyon, and Mia, a refugee from Spain. As the world drifts toward war, Gilda defiantly pursues her hedonistic lifestyle and her burgeoning career as a photographer. But Guy and Mia feel impelled to join the fight against fascism, and the three friends are separated.

Release Date : 2004-04-29

Language :GermanFrenchEnglishSpanish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Remstar ProductionsDakota FilmsSpice FactoryMovision

Production Country : CanadaUnited Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Gilda Bessé

Original Name : Charlize Theron

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mia

Original Name : Penélope Cruz

Gender : Female

Character Name : Guy Malyon

Original Name : Stuart Townsend

Gender : Male

Character Name : Major Thomas Bietrich

Original Name : Thomas Kretschmann

Gender : Male

Character Name : Max

Original Name : Peter Cockett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Julian Ellsworth

Original Name : Gabriel Hogan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lisette

Original Name : Karine Vanasse

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lucien

Original Name : David La Haye

Gender : Male

Character Name : Charles Bessé

Original Name : Steven Berkoff

Gender : Male

Character Name : David Beamish

Original Name : John Robinson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fortune Teller

Original Name : Élisabeth Chouvalidzé

Gender : Female

Character Name : Gilda, Age 14

Original Name : Jolyane Langlois

Gender : Male

Character Name : Élodie

Original Name : Sophie Desmarais

Gender : Female

Character Name : Julie

Original Name : Éloïsa Cervantes

Gender : Female

Character Name : Undergraduate #1

Original Name : Ivan Vukov

Gender : Male

Character Name : Undergraduate #2

Original Name : Sebastian Bailey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alice

Original Name : Rachelle Lefevre

Gender : Female

Character Name : Undergraduate #3

Original Name : Daniel Murphy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Molly Twelvetrees

Original Name : Linda Tomassone

Gender : Female

Character Name : Winston

Original Name : Julian Casey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Davina

Original Name : Lisa Bronwyn Moore

Gender : Female

Character Name : Unwin

Original Name : Frank Fontaine

Gender : Male

Character Name : Venetia

Original Name : Vanya Rose

Gender : Male

Character Name : Linda

Original Name : Amy Sloan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Centurion

Original Name : Sven Eriksson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elderly Woman

Original Name : Michèle Châtelet

Gender : Male

Character Name : Arnold Beck

Original Name : Arthur Holden

Gender : Male

Character Name : Simone

Original Name : Paule Ducharme

Gender : Male

Character Name : Vincent

Original Name : Jérôme Tiberghien

Gender : Male

Character Name : Béatrice

Original Name : Lenie Scoffié

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bride

Original Name : Sarah Gravel

Gender : Female

Character Name : Small Boy

Original Name : Benjamin Chouinard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Small Girl

Original Name : Émilie Carrier

Gender : Male

Character Name : Django Reinhardt

Original Name : John Jorgenson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stefan Grapelli

Original Name : Eric Speed

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joseph Reinhardt

Original Name : Andrew MacKenzie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Baro Ferret

Original Name : François Rousseau

Gender : Male

Character Name : Roger Grasset

Original Name : André Faleiros

Gender : Male

Character Name : Françoise - Bessé's Maid

Original Name : Élisa Sergent

Gender : Female

Character Name : Céline Bessé

Original Name : Cécile Cassel

Gender : Female

Character Name : Taxi Driver

Original Name : Michel Albert Côté

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ferguson

Original Name : Christopher Freeman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Photographic Studio Assistant

Original Name : Sonia Auger-Guimont

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Soldier at Gardens

Original Name : Jan Oliver Schroeder

Gender : Male

Character Name : Michel

Original Name : Paul-Antoine Taillefer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Raul

Original Name : Allen Altman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Goltz

Original Name : Mark Antony Krupa

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pascale

Original Name : Judith Baribeau

Gender : Female

Character Name : Maître d'Hôtel L'Aiglon

Original Name : Armand Laroche

Gender : Male

Character Name : L'Aiglon Evicted Woman

Original Name : Elizabeth Marleau

Gender : Female

Character Name : W.R.A.C.

Original Name : Elizabeth Whitmere

Gender : Female

Character Name : French Solider

Original Name : Charles Lelaure

Gender : Male

Character Name : Resistant

Original Name : Vincent Leclerc

Gender : Male

Character Name : French Solider

Original Name : Stéphane Boutet

Gender : Male

Character Name : Annette

Original Name : Annick D'Amours

Gender : Male

Reviews

Filipe Manuel Neto

@FilipeManuelNeto

2023-03-25

**A film about idealisms, utopias and harsh realities, which could be much better than it is, but is still good enough to be worth it.** There are many movies about romance and love in times of war. John Duigan gives us a film about love, but also about hopes for the future, utopias and the way war and human cruelty end it all in an instant. That old story of idealism versus reality. The film is good, but as a drama it is a little inconsistent and does not work from a romantic point of view. The script begins with the unusual meeting between a young Irish student named Guy and a beautiful and liberal French heiress, Gilda Bessé. They have an affair that, years later, they will resume in Paris, including the young Spanish Mia. The ménage-a-trois ends up when Guy and Mia go to Spain to help the republicans in the Civil War. The defeat in the war and the German invasion of France will later condemn Gilda to a difficult survival, as the lover of an officer of the invading troops... and I really don't want to say more because it would spoil the pleasure of watching the film. As I said, the movie is good, and it has a good story. The problem is that there's a lot here, and there are several sub-plots that come out of nowhere and end up not resulting in anything: it's the case of the tense relationship between Gilda and her rich father, or what happens to Mia's brother. Very little consistency and dramatic solidity, in a script that seems fragile at various times. I'm even willing to forgive that... but it's hard to ignore the way the film confuses love with sexual horniness. Gilda Bessé seems to be anything but a romantic or passionate young woman, and the relationship between her and her partners is very sexual, but not exactly rosy. Despite having a pretty good cast, there are only three actors who really deserve a note and highlight. Penélope Cruz is quite believable in her character, but the director doesn't give her anything that really allows the actress to do something really memorable. Her character is cold, a little shy, and the actress has the ability to impress us more. Stuart Townsend does what he can in his character, but he's not "nerdy" enough for the character he's been given. He's elegant, he's handsome, but that's about it. He's not even an actor who seems capable of combining beauty and intellect in the same character. This makes me think that he was only cast in the film because he is the husband of the remarkable Charlize Theron who, in fact, is the soul of the film and gives us an extraordinary performance, where beauty, sexuality, drama and suffering are perfectly matched. Technically, it's a restrained film, standard Hollywood at the time. There are some aspects that were very well-used, such as the original footage of the war, in black and white, and the way in which the sets and costumes were designed and recreated, managing to show the passage of years and the evolution of the characters very well. The soundtrack, however, could be better, while the cinematography seems a little disconnected from the rest of the work.