Debra Winger and John Malkovich travel to Morocco to get lost.
This was an unexpected, entrancing journey, much like my previous Under the Radar pick Dead Man. I’d heard the title in a line of dialogue at the opening of The Player, during that amazing 8 minute opening shot.
The journey that the couple embark on twists in unexpected directions. What struck me about The Sheltering Sky was how much like a novel it seemed. The style, with Bernardo Bertolucci directing, rejects modern Hollywood slick cutting, instead lingering on the ancient desert atmosphere, but not to the point of tedium. An evolving landscape and an evolving relationship call into question concepts like love, commitment and devotion. It’s a very meditative, existential film, and worth checking out.
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