The Sheltering Sky. (15.)
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. 1990.
Starring Debra Winger, John Malkovich, Campbell Scott, Jill Bennett, Timothy Spall and Eric Vu-an. Out on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy. 138 mins
A bunch of Americans travel abroad and lose their way, as they are apt to do. A bunch of Italian filmmakers and an English speaking cast set out to film an unfilmable novel and lose sight of what it is about, which happens. Bertolucci's version of Paul Bowles' novel is remarkable in many ways but foremost because you actually can see it losing the plot.
This week Arrow was planning on putting David Cronenberg's version of J.G Ballard's Crash back in cinemas, and for me, that is easily the greatest of all film adaptations of literary novels. Firstly, because it perfectly captures the essence of the book, without being pedantically faithful to it. But much than that though, it leaves you the book, completely unscathed. Cronenberg's film is absolutely Ballard's book, but if you read the book after seeing it, his film doesn't intrude into your reading. Now I haven't read Bowles's novel but I suspect that, in its own way, Bertolucci's film does something similar.
Plotwise, book and film are relatively straightforward. After the war, a trio of rich Manhattanites arrives in North Africa to go travelling. Port (Malkovich) and Kit (Winger) are a married couple planning to stay for a few years, Tunner (Scott) is just along for a few weeks. Their supercilious New World confidence though will soon unravel in the face of an impenetrable culture and the stark, indifferent terrain.
The casting is perfect; each of the stars mirrors their roles. Malkovich is all about the improv and his Port is restless and sure of himself, confident that he can take on anything that is thrown at him. He's also something of a pompous ass, a facility that Malkovich has always had access to if needed. Winger believes in meticulously preparation and her Kit is nervous and ill at ease. She's not prepared to wing it, everything has to be thought through. Scott is the spare wheel who thinks he's essential but doesn't really get a look in. (As I remember around this time George C's boy was being groomed for stardom, being cast alongside Julia Roberts in a sure thing, but Dying Young did just that at the box office and that was the end of that.)
Following their arrival in Algeria, there are several scenes where the author Bowles is seen in a bar watching over his creations as they prepare to move on into North Africa and the Sahara desert region. Effectively he is waving the three off on their adventures, seeing the film take its leave of him.
In terms of plot, the adaptation by Bertie and Mark Peploe seems faithful but this is not really a plot book, it's a prose book. Bowles book is a classic existential text and however beautiful the wording the vision is stark, cutting through to some blunt, harsh truths. In the film, those blunt harsh truths get overwhelmed by the abundance of life and beauty.
Probably the film is sabotaged by cinematographer Vittorio Storraro. He'd just won his third Oscar for Last Emperor but if anything this surpasses his work on that. The deserts, the rocky terrain, the forests look incredible in this. It must be one of the most beautiful films ever. Arrow aren't even bothering with a DVD release of this, it's Blu-ray or nothing. And the transfer is pristine, beyond lovely but however big your telly, you're going to be thinking I need to see this on the big screen. And I bet when you see it on the big screen, the biggest possible, it's not going to be enough. So you'll have to go to Tangiers and Morrocco and see it for yourself and then you'll wait for the sun to be in exactly the right position and it still won't be enough. And that is how remarkable his work is on this film and that is why this is such a self-defeating masterpiece.
The Sheltering Sky is an overwhelming experience but even as you're being blown away by it you're aware of an absence at the centre of it. Where's the book? What's the point? Why are we being shown these things? The two leads have an intensity that blasts any other living thing from their path. And they need every bit of it to go up against that scenery. But if you haven't read the book I'm not sure you'd quite understand what the dynamics of their relationship is.
Spoiler perhaps, but right at the end of the film Bowles reappears to greet what has returned and then deliver the most famous passage of prose from the book. It's as if he's been waiting there all the time for it to come back to him, to emphasise how far Bertie and the team have strayed from its essence. On film, he appears magnanimous and indulgent but some years later, shortly before he died, Bowles dismissed the film. You can't argue with him, but you don't have to agree with him. The film's lush, sensual existentialism may be absurd, but there is a gentle brutality to it that is compelling.
Extras
Archival audio commentary with director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, and screenwriter Mark Peploe
• Desert Roses (47 mins) – archival featurette
• Brand new video essay by David Cairns & Fiona Watson
• Brand new interview with art director Andrew Sanders
• Archival interviews with cast and crew (10 mins)
• Image Gallery
• Original Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original theatrical artwork
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kat Ellinger
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. 1990.
Starring Debra Winger, John Malkovich, Campbell Scott, Jill Bennett, Timothy Spall and Eric Vu-an. Out on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy. 138 mins
A bunch of Americans travel abroad and lose their way, as they are apt to do. A bunch of Italian filmmakers and an English speaking cast set out to film an unfilmable novel and lose sight of what it is about, which happens. Bertolucci's version of Paul Bowles' novel is remarkable in many ways but foremost because you actually can see it losing the plot.
This week Arrow was planning on putting David Cronenberg's version of J.G Ballard's Crash back in cinemas, and for me, that is easily the greatest of all film adaptations of literary novels. Firstly, because it perfectly captures the essence of the book, without being pedantically faithful to it. But much than that though, it leaves you the book, completely unscathed. Cronenberg's film is absolutely Ballard's book, but if you read the book after seeing it, his film doesn't intrude into your reading. Now I haven't read Bowles's novel but I suspect that, in its own way, Bertolucci's film does something similar.
Plotwise, book and film are relatively straightforward. After the war, a trio of rich Manhattanites arrives in North Africa to go travelling. Port (Malkovich) and Kit (Winger) are a married couple planning to stay for a few years, Tunner (Scott) is just along for a few weeks. Their supercilious New World confidence though will soon unravel in the face of an impenetrable culture and the stark, indifferent terrain.
The casting is perfect; each of the stars mirrors their roles. Malkovich is all about the improv and his Port is restless and sure of himself, confident that he can take on anything that is thrown at him. He's also something of a pompous ass, a facility that Malkovich has always had access to if needed. Winger believes in meticulously preparation and her Kit is nervous and ill at ease. She's not prepared to wing it, everything has to be thought through. Scott is the spare wheel who thinks he's essential but doesn't really get a look in. (As I remember around this time George C's boy was being groomed for stardom, being cast alongside Julia Roberts in a sure thing, but Dying Young did just that at the box office and that was the end of that.)
Following their arrival in Algeria, there are several scenes where the author Bowles is seen in a bar watching over his creations as they prepare to move on into North Africa and the Sahara desert region. Effectively he is waving the three off on their adventures, seeing the film take its leave of him.
In terms of plot, the adaptation by Bertie and Mark Peploe seems faithful but this is not really a plot book, it's a prose book. Bowles book is a classic existential text and however beautiful the wording the vision is stark, cutting through to some blunt, harsh truths. In the film, those blunt harsh truths get overwhelmed by the abundance of life and beauty.
Probably the film is sabotaged by cinematographer Vittorio Storraro. He'd just won his third Oscar for Last Emperor but if anything this surpasses his work on that. The deserts, the rocky terrain, the forests look incredible in this. It must be one of the most beautiful films ever. Arrow aren't even bothering with a DVD release of this, it's Blu-ray or nothing. And the transfer is pristine, beyond lovely but however big your telly, you're going to be thinking I need to see this on the big screen. And I bet when you see it on the big screen, the biggest possible, it's not going to be enough. So you'll have to go to Tangiers and Morrocco and see it for yourself and then you'll wait for the sun to be in exactly the right position and it still won't be enough. And that is how remarkable his work is on this film and that is why this is such a self-defeating masterpiece.
The Sheltering Sky is an overwhelming experience but even as you're being blown away by it you're aware of an absence at the centre of it. Where's the book? What's the point? Why are we being shown these things? The two leads have an intensity that blasts any other living thing from their path. And they need every bit of it to go up against that scenery. But if you haven't read the book I'm not sure you'd quite understand what the dynamics of their relationship is.
Spoiler perhaps, but right at the end of the film Bowles reappears to greet what has returned and then deliver the most famous passage of prose from the book. It's as if he's been waiting there all the time for it to come back to him, to emphasise how far Bertie and the team have strayed from its essence. On film, he appears magnanimous and indulgent but some years later, shortly before he died, Bowles dismissed the film. You can't argue with him, but you don't have to agree with him. The film's lush, sensual existentialism may be absurd, but there is a gentle brutality to it that is compelling.
Extras
Archival audio commentary with director Bernardo Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, and screenwriter Mark Peploe
• Desert Roses (47 mins) – archival featurette
• Brand new video essay by David Cairns & Fiona Watson
• Brand new interview with art director Andrew Sanders
• Archival interviews with cast and crew (10 mins)
• Image Gallery
• Original Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original theatrical artwork
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kat Ellinger
