Beyond the Clouds (1995)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Beyond the Clouds (1995) – M. Antonioni & W. Wenders

Beautiful people in beautiful locations – but is it Antonioni?  Well, of course, it is – this is the great director’s final feature done in partnership with Wim Wenders (in order to secure insurance coverage following his 1985 stroke).  But does it connect with Antonioni’s other films?  Mysteriously, it does – although this only becomes apparent as the film slowly unwinds through its four incomplete anecdotes, charting relationships between men and women (often in a soft-core state of undress) who invariably do not connect.  Or do they?  Except for the Peter Weller adultery sequence (where both Fanny Ardant and Chiara Caselli appear distraught), the characters seem nonplussed as their interactions go nowhere.  John Malkovich floats above it all, quoting from Antonioni’s book (as his stand in), holding the stories together, peering into windows, and engaging with Sophie Marceau.  None of this is particularly satisfying on its own but Antonioni’s eye for the image and a melancholy romantic soundtrack slowly work some magic, elevating the film above others of its type but nowhere near the masterworks of the director’s richest period (‘50s through ‘70s).