Colin Billett I discovered this film very recently and very soon after my first reading of the book. The book impressed me greatly, and the film too in other ways. The beautiful prose of the book is replaced by the beautiful cinematography, and wonderful soundtrack. The scenery is some of the most impressive I've seen, and authenticity appears in every shot. Acting is superb throughout, and all nicely controlled and even understated. From a fairly dense book there is of course there is a great deal to condense and there is much omitted, which might make it difficult for people who have not read the book to follow the progress of the central pair of characters. On the other hand, if you have read the book, you might be disappointed that many of the significant points are missing. But if you know the story and are prepared to accept this, you might be in for a real treat.

Michael Neumann Two post-WWII Manhattan sophisticates who travel to avoid standing still embark on a soul-searching expedition into the Sahara Desert, where the beautiful but desolate landscapes provide a mirror to their own troubled relationship. The film is nothing if not exotic, presenting some of the purest visions of the desert since Peter O'Toole first rode a camel in 'Lawrence of Arabia'. But the scenario works best when presented as an ethnic travelogue, ushering viewers into an utterly foreign world. The messy marital plot conflicts are, by comparison, all rather vague, especially after Debra Winger goes native in a Bedouin harem. The story never really finds an ending, because there isn't anything to resolve: the characters all exist in a (handsomely photographed) vacuum, and their motivations are even more mysterious than the Arab culture surrounding them. The intrusive (and, as usual, unnecessary) voice-over narration is by novelist Paul Bowles himself, briefly glimpsed in the film's opening scenes.

michael-1151 Bertolucci's superb The Conformist is one of my all-time favourites, meaningful, succinct, powerful and erotic. The Sheltering Sky is not quite up there with it, it seduces the senses with visual grandeur, rather than emotional significance. Set in North Africa shortly after WW2, not too distant in time frame from his masterpiece, it is not so much an epic without a plot or a love story as some have suggested, it's more a parable, but it needed deeper motivational elements for its' central characters to compel.The majestic dunes of the Sahara, stark beauty of a barren landscape, is beautifully captured, as is the slim sensuality of Debra Winger; she doesn't seem to mind too much about the sand and flies getting everywhere - in one scene, a fly surreptitiously wanders along her thigh and up her dress during love-making with her husband in the desert - an unpaid extra, who nevertheless, contributes to the realism. In my neck of the woods, flies always demand rehearsal fees.What is it with Italian directors and sex in the desert? Think Antonioni's Zabriskie Point, an artistic orgy, mind - not a fly in sight! Believe me, there are plenty here - not just up Ms Winger's dress, but buzzing around buses, in hair, on faces, attacking raw meat on sale in markets, everywhere.John Malkovitch, as the husband, doesn't provide any reason for his professorial ambiguity - married to a beautiful woman, trying to reignite their relationship, but as soon as the opportunity arises, exploring North African prostitution with a wholly non academic interest. And the character of George Tunner, their part-time fellow-American travelling companion, captivated and at the mercy of Debra's charms, seems unaware or unconcerned by at least one of the Ten Commandments - quite a big thing in those days - why, Cecil B. DeMille even made a film about them.I like meaningful films, I liked this one, in spite of - or maybe because of - it's significance being at best eclectic, and perhaps confused. When any movie character does anything, you have to ask why. Here, you shrug your shoulders and wistfully wonder, why not? Luscious landscapes are more for painters. The images here needed more cohesion and purpose behind them. But they are images to enhance your spirituality, eventually providing a warm glow, even in an ultimately dismal context.

Framescourer There's argument to be had with a number of elements in the film from casting to the narrative adaptation. It's almost impossible to imagine how Bertolucci might have captured North West Africa on film better though. You can see its going to be a remarkable thing to simply look as the principal couple arrive on a rusting pier: a sweeping crane dolly, a long take, the dramatic change in light. Exhilarating.The Sheltering Sky is about this visual appeal and how we give ourselves over to it. The other great theme of the movie is sex, or the temporal incarnation of this great beauty. This is one of the most sexually appealing films I've seen, frank and flawed but often magnetic. No doubt casting the attractive Debra Winger as Kit was part and parcel of this approach - she acts very well too (although I'm a great admirer of Judy Davis who famously regretted being passed over). As Kit's wilful husband Port, Malkovich is arresting if unsympathetic. The secondary cast are good but the great coup for Bertolucci is the location casting and extras who are all wonderful.A film to marvel at. I could have done without the sporadic and unnecessary voice-over but misjudgements are always likely to creep into such a sprawl. 7/10