On S List of Movie Reviews

(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)

---

Sheltering Sky (1990)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 11/17

11/17: If I thought Sheltering Sky reminded me of Professione: reporter with Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider, then I was right because Mark Peploe wrote the screenplay for both pictures.

They're practically the same except I like the former more because it's coherent, easy to get into, and interesting to watch. Now, if anyone wants to be convinced of the potential dangers when it comes to traveling, most especially in exotic locations, it's best idea to start with this movie.

A common problem for international travelers is typhoid which occurs by coming in contact with contaminated water and food. It's worldwide apart from the industrialized regions such as the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and Japan. Some symptoms include high fever, weakness, stomach pains, headache, and loss of appetite.

Sheltering Sky was going well until John Malkovich's character died of the disease. Then, the movie went down in the drain because he could always hold my attention, no matter what. It's a big mistake of Bernardo Bertolucci to commit cinema suicide this early. And what happened to Campbell Scott? He just disappeared.

Of course, the best part is Vittorio Storaro's lush cinematography of Northern Africa. It certainly rivals Lawrence of Arabia. When I think of Bernardo Bertolucci's pictures, this is what I expect. By the way, if you weren't sure who the old man was at the end of the film, that's Paul Bowles who wrote the book in 1949. He was born in New York City and chose, at the age of 37, to spend the next fifty-two years in Tangier before passing away.

All in all, Sheltering Sky may not fulfill all the qualities of a masterpiece, but it's a well-paced, enjoyable movie that's set on an amazing landscape.

---