gudpaljoey-48217 I thought this picture captured the yearnings of love in old age better than some I've seen. Ms Werner paints a wonderful portrait of a woman who comes of age in a different way. In this triangle, (That's a poor way to describe it.) a woman, this time is the one who is responsible, given great measure to the unpleasant result. If a man were the cause, he could more easily walk away. This movie demonstrated that cuddling is not enough for some elders. Erotic yearnings are never lost in some; most elders find distractions. I liked this picture a lot. But why did I concern myself with whether the husband died of heartbreak or was a suicide.

gberke An old lady falls in love with an old man, not her husband. She and the old man have wonderful sex, and she finds herself compelled to continue against her wishes "I didn't want this" she will say again and again. It is a bit alarming, this portrayal of a mature woman in a good relationship, with a daughter, grandchildren, a good an settled life when she finds herself acting methodically but out of control... she is filled with desire for this new man's company, and out of a sense of honesty she is compelled to tell her husband and indeed, leave him. "I didn't want this" she will say... This is not a young thing, inexperienced, taken away by some mad youthful forbidden fling, This is an adult, a mature and capable woman who is nonetheless taken up as if she were just that young thing, bereft of responsibility, consumed and driven to pursue that new love, wonderfully fresh. How can this not destroy her family? "I didn't want this." It is a little bit frightening, that for all she has, her emotions can pull her away and out of her family, surely able to know the damage that must be done but unable to experience that created pain against the overwhelming passion she has incautiously stumbled into. A lovely, revealing, cautionary tale. The audience itself seems similarly drawn in, enjoying the romance but unwilling to accept what would clearly be an expected outcome: pain.

John Peters The people in Cloud Nine are not motivated by middle class psychology, such factors as relationships with parents and emotional deprivations in childhood. Rather, their motivations emerge from their basic characters. To a surprising extent, their characters reflect elemental types. Inga, a sixty-seven year old woman, is a feeling type who works as a seamstress and is a member of a choir. She has been married for thirty years to Werner, a thinking type who likes railroads and timetables. Their daughter, Petra, is a sensate type. She has young children and favors practical solutions. Karl, Inga's lover, is an intuitive type who impulsively makes love to her when he tries on a pair of trousers that she has mended.These types are not pure or absolute. As in everyday life, aspects of people's characters continually rub against themselves and against aspects of other people's characters. This rubbing is what the movie's about. Inga, a bright, shining, and moderately overweight woman, is delighted by her affair. Contrary to her daughter's advice, she tells her husband about it. He considers their marriage a happy one (we see nothing to contradict this) and finds it incomprehensible that she would want another lover. Inga and Werner separate. Inga moves in with Karl. Werner kills himself.Cloud Nine's plot is the structure within which its characters interact. All dialog is improvised. The improvisation is by skilled actors who have a full understanding of the relationships among their characters. In terms of naturalness, this approach is highly successful. In a few instances, things that we expect to be there are left out. When Werner says to Inga that he assumes her affair is with a younger man, she does not tell him that Karl is nine years older than her. And no one states explicitly that Werner has killed himself. As would happen in real life, we assume it because of the way people act.Many comments on this film, both by reviewers and by people I've talked to, involve its portrayal of nudity and sex among people in their sixties and seventies. The many close-up depictions are both graphic and discreet in ways that would be inconceivable in a Hollywood movie. The scenes stay with the viewer. Old and less than perfect bodies can be admired without cosmetic enhancement. Death's sting is unavoidable but can ultimately be accepted. The cloud nine on which Inga lives is not in outer space but is a beautiful part of nature.

Stephan Ortmann Sometimes you watch movies that are pretty empty. Well, this is one of them. A woman falls for another man in an affair that seems to be only motivated by sex. After some arguing, she decides to choose her new boyfriend and leave her husband for 30 years. After that, her husband dies, probably of suicide. (That is really not explained). This all takes a very long time. Except for the songs of a choir, there is not really a soundtrack. This makes it more difficult to understand the emotions and also makes some very long scenes very boring. What stands out for me, is that this woman decides against her love for life even though she still loves him, for a life of sex. And that her daughter agrees with her and even encourages her to continue. If that were my mother, I would certainly advise against a thing like that.While some acting was good, others was not very convincing. I especially think the directing lacked coherence. The use of rain and colors did not clearly add to the meaning of the film. Perhaps, the lack of a score did really make this movie really appear empty. This is reinforced at the end, when the "new" couple hold to each other shortly after the tragic event. All this adds up to a very poor movie. Definitely not recommended if you want to have an enjoying evening.