Cloud 9

When I saw the summary of the movie with a bright, strong image of the characters, I thought it would be quite exciting to see a movie about a (kind of) love triangle of elder people.

I mean, feelings constituted on pity, gratitude, humanity or any other cliché about age really bored... Thus, the possibility of seeing a story about elder people which doesn't care about age itself was exciting.

Additionally the strong sex images in the movie made me think the director will open up some provocative conflicts...

However, the script was so conventional and straight... Maybe the word shallow can fit here, I don't know... The problem for me was, without the detail of the characters age, there's nothing special in the movie. On the other hand, the concept of age should be totally discarded (so we should be looking for something else?) or discussed... Neither of them was there, so there was just a lack I guess...

I saw this film at the Cannes Film Festival 2008 and I must say of the 20+ films that I saw this was the most beautiful and most moving. This by far is the best film that I have seen in a long time. It takes a level of mental maturity to get past the "eeww old people sex" and see the story for itself. The film is touching, honest and emotional. The director did an amazing job in conveying the raw emotion of the situation. The actress that plays Inge was phenomenal. I could not see anyone else in that role. She was not playing a role but actually being. I highly recommend this film to anyone that enjoys true, honest, emotional and full films. If you like the light fluffy films this isn't for you. This is a film that will stay with you for awhile. (heck I saw it almost a month ago and I'm still thinking about it).

Andreas Dresen has given us the most memorable movie in a long time. Great actors in front of a patient camera that either stands still to let action evolve or focuses on the faces. There is hardly any dialog in the first half of the film, character development occurs through the camera. It's the cinematic language that brings to mind Mike Leigh's films. As to the buzz about "old sex" - it's true, Mr. Dresen has broken into new realms showing elderly people making love good and proper, with lots of detail but never once overstepping limits of good taste. This movie concerns every one of us. Especially those over 60 will come out of the show and not be able to stop talking about it for hours, as it happened in Buenos Aires when strangers started lively discussions while walking out into the bright late afternoon. Don't miss it! It will shake you, but not break you, and certainly stay with you for a long time.

CLOUD 9 is a touching, yet disconcerting look at the romantic longings, and sexual desires of people in the late Autumn of their lives. Inge, a woman in her 60's, who has been married to Werner for over 30 years, has a spontaneous affair with Karl, who is 76. Their sexual encounters are portrayed in graphic detail, and I can't think of a film which has depicted such explicit sexuality between elderly characters. Although Inge feels a certain comfortability with Werner, she is slowly realizing that their life together is nothing more than marking time until death. Inge is awakening to the fact that she just might be entitled to a bit more, and Karl seems to provide the change for which she has been yearning. Andreas Dresen, the director, has provided a plot, however all of the dialog was improvised by the actors while filming. Little background is given, and the film explores the intensity of the sexual encounters, and the ramifications of these interactions. In depth narrative detail is sacrificed for the vividness and drama of the emotional consequences. CLOUD 9 clearly targets a mature audience, and for a small budget film which addresses a rather taboo subject, it is quite heartfelt and poignant.

I admit I missed the first 20 minutes of this film but soon realized what it was about. A couples relationship that has lasted 30years is suddenly in danger. The woman falls is love with another man and faces a terrible choice to stay in her boring relationship or feel alive again with her new man. I won't spoil the ending but it was very moving and at the same time disturbing. A real gritty drama that shows life as it is without any Hollywood style gloss. It's not just young love that has it's agonies!!! To all young couples and the middle aged. Don't think you're past all turbulent times, you never know what is around the corner.