Review of The Sheltering Sky (1990) by Dan K — 16 Sep 2010
At first I didn't care at all about these smug, upper-class twats bumming around North Africa, but eventually the story worked its way under my skin a little bit. The combination of exotic cultures and themes of bourgeois alienation make it feel somewhat like an Antonioni remake of a Herzog film.
God, that's a terrible analogy, I'm trying to be clever and failing miserably because I don't really have much to say. Bertolucci is pervy as ever... if its not Brando's buttered bum, or Deniro and Depardieu getting simultaneous handjobs, then it's Malkovich's schlong filling half of the frame.
Storaro's photography is beautiful, but that's kind of a given by now. There still hasn't been another Bertolucci film that blew me away like The Conformist did. They've all been merely okay (except 1900 which is aesthetically pleasant but otherwise ridiculous).
The casting may have been an issue here; I don't find Debra Winger very compelling, but then again maybe that suits the character. I dunno, it's a thoughtful movie but it just didn't have that magic spark to it.
This review of The Sheltering Sky (1990) was written by Dan K on 16 Sep 2010.
The Sheltering Sky has generally received positive reviews.
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