mburnsderry Hands up! I slept through the last 30 minutes of this pile of excrement. It might have the best ending in the history of cinema but I was not prepared to sacrifice another 30 minutes of my life to find out because the previous 300 hours (well that's what it seemed like)were excruciatingly boring. Badly acted, badly scripted rubbish. I accuse those of you who gave this film a good review of wasting more than two precious hours of my life.HOW DARE YOU.LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC OPINIONS.Tenth line of text added.

dgg32 Directly after watching Theron's highly acclaimed movie "the Monster", I immediately turned to her next, namely the subject here "Head in the clouds". Although I understand little about what this title means. But Theron's performance in that film is simply convincing and brilliant. Purely from her appearance I already give the film 7 stars.In the monster, Theron has totally deformed herself. 30 pounds weight gain. Amazing, but meanwhile her makeup there also totally destroyed her impression in my mind--ugly and rough, disgusting. Because she had so successfully embodied Lee, the title role, she won a dozen prizes for it, at the price of her image of course. After all, I prefer that sweet Theron.In the "the Italian job" she had once showed the sweetness. Here in Head in the clouds the second time. Gilda is a very complex person. She lived at first quite cynically, never invested her emotion at any thing. But after meeting Guy, she changed. Even that hasn't help her to survive the war. Her tragic end of life is heartbreaking, without letting people know what good she had done during the war. Even though she was a playgirl, she is the most emotional character in the whole movie.

dierregi For once, a title that fits perfectly the content. Indeed, "Empty heads" would have been even better, but alas one cannot ask for too many details in the title alone.Basically this movie is only a showcase for beautiful Ms. Theron, who struts around always impeccably made up, and wearing a variety of sexy gowns and hairstyles, just like in a fashion show.If you are a boy, this may be reason enough to have a movie made, but in any other case it is most definitely not enough.Ms. Cruz is also shown in a most favorable light, but it is clear that the only character that really matters is the blonde model, who spends her life sleeping around and changing clothes. Not a chance anybody can really buy the fact that Ms. Theron's character (named Gilda) is a famous photographer or that she in the least care about anybody around her.On these premises, the story falls flat on its face, especially in the last third, which is supposed to be dramatic and where we learn a surprising truth about the allegedly empty-headed Gilda. Unfortunately, if character study means something, it is just plain impossible to believe that Gilda is something else than a self-absorbed, empty-headed, sluttish and opportunistic brat.And so much for the incredibly shallow romance and the lesbian dance – if you enjoy seeing two women flirting with each other on the dance floor go and see "Frida" which is a much better movie.

bgc-4 Given the wonderful quality of Head In The Clouds I don't know how I never heard of it until I stumbled over it on the Netflix web page and decided to rent it.This is a major movie. It is an emotionally powerful movie. It has a huge scope both in time and space, historical accuracy, an excellent, and at times complex, script, outstanding performances by all concerned, great direction, and superb cinematography. I loved it and I cried at the end.Charlize Theron was fantastic as Gilda. I have known people such as the character she played and she had it just right. With her body language she told us she was rich, talented, cynical, very loyal to her real friends, and in the end so very brave. Her voice is such that sometimes I think she is channeling Theresa Russell.Stuart Townsend played his part of a quiet underclass Belfast Irishman, Guy, perfectly. Some reviewers were disappointed that his performance wasn't stronger. Hey, Rambo wouldn't have survived long as a British operative in Nazi occupied Paris. Townsend triumphs in subtlety and his character narrates some of the story.Penelope Cruz was perfect as Mia, who had been physically injured by Fascists in Spain when they came to take her brother away, presumably to be executed given that the time immediately preceded the Spanish Civil War of the 1930's.Thomas Kretschmann is brilliant as Frans Bietrich, the personification of Nazi evil: educated, urbane, thoughtful, and completely ruthless when torturing and murdering.The repartee among the three friends, Gilda, Mia, and Guy, during the prewar period is very realistic. I've participated in similar conversations. There are several back referencing jokes. You have to pay attention. In addition we see the best presentation of a three way sexual relationship I've ever seen on film. These three people love each other and this is beautifully communicated.World War II was a cataclysm that shook the world. The free peoples were fighting for the life of their civilizations against what was one of the most evil regimes to ever exist through all of history, the German Third Reich. The story starts well before WWII and we are shown the good life of a wealthy young woman and her friends in Paris. We are then taken to the Spanish Civil War and on into WWII. The things portrayed in this movie HAPPENED although maybe not exactly as in the story shown; however, similar things are well documented as occurring during WWII. If one doesn't have much knowledge of the history of that period the story may seem far fetched. It isn't. For all I know the story is factual even though there is the usual statement at the end about it all being fiction.More about Kretschmann: Toward the end of the movie there is a scene in which his character is supervising the torture of a young woman member of the French Resistance. The torturers are using the near drowning method, waterboarding is what the CIA calls it today. He is seated with his back to his underlings and gives the order to immerse her, then plays with a loose thread on his shirt cuff while timing the immersion. He fiddles with his cuff links. He is clearly bored. Just another day at the office. When he decides she isn't going to talk he gives the order to put her under and and never orders her to be raised. I have heard it phrased: "The banality of evil". Kretschmann and Duigan bring it off to perfection.This is a must see movie. It will stick with you. Parts of it will come back to haunt you for at least several days. As I said before, this is powerful stuff.