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The Sheltering Sky (film)
Encyclopedia
The Sheltering Sky is a 1990
British-Italian drama film
directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
starring Debra Winger
and John Malkovich
. The film is based on the 1949 novel
by Paul Bowles
(who narrates the film and appears in a cameo role) about a couple who journey to northern Africa in the hopes of rekindling their marriage but soon fall prey to the dangers that surround them.
in 1947. Port Moresby (John Malkovich
) and his wife Kit (Debra Winger
) are accompanied by their friend George Tunner (Campbell Scott
) on a trip that will take them deep into the Sahara Desert. Tunner observes, "We're probably the first tourists they've had since the war" to which Kit replies, "We're not tourists. We're travelers." While Tunner plans to return home in a few weeks, Port and Kit plan on staying for a year or two.
While awaiting transportation to a hotel, the group meets the Lyles – Mrs. Lyle (Jill Bennett), a travel writer and her son Eric (Timothy Spall
). After arriving at the hotel, Port invites Kit to accompany him for a walk of the city. After refusing and rebuffing his romantic advances, Port angrily leaves. During his walk he meets a prostitute (Amina Annabi). The two have sex and the prostitute attempts to steal his wallet. Port quickly leaves and is chased by a mob.
The next morning Tunner arrives at Kit's room to take her shopping. Not wanting Tunner to know that Port stayed out all night, she removes the covers from his bed to make it appear that he slept there. As Kit and Tunner are preparing to leave, a disheveled Port arrives. Seeing his bed, he assumes that Tunner spent the night with Kit.
Port and Kit once again encounter the Lyles and are offered a ride in their car to their next destination but are informed that there is no room for Tunner. Port accepts the ride with the Lyles while Kit takes the train with Tunner. Tunner and Kit awake the next morning in Kit's room after a drunken tryst.
Suspicious of Kit's relationship with Tunner, Port arranges for Eric Lyle to provide Tunner with transportation to Messad
on the pretext that Port and Kit will meet him later. Eric agrees but also steals Port's passport.
In Bounoura
, Port discovers his passport missing. Even after being informed by local officials that the passport can be recovered in Messad, Port decides to proceed to El Ga'a with Kit in order to avoid a meeting with Tunner. Port then contracts typhoid
and dies at a French foreign legion post leaving Kit alone deep in the Sahara.
Kit wanders in the desert until she is rescued by a caravan
led by Belqassim (Eric Vu-An). After the caravan arrives at Belqassim's home, he disguises Kit as a boy and locks her in a guest house. Although held captive, Kit welcomes Belqassim's advances and the two begin an affair. Kit is soon discovered by Belqassim's wives who order her to leave. Kit finds herself disoriented in the local marketplace and is found in a hospital by staff of the American embassy. She is transported back to Tangier where she began her journey and is told that Tunner is waiting for her. After arriving at the hotel, Kit flees into the city before Tunner can meet her.
reported that 43 percent of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 21 reviews.
Among those praising the film was New York Times film critic Vincent Canby
, who described it as a "long, beautifully modulated cry of despair." In 1998, Paul Bowles wrote a new preface to the novel in which he stated "the less said about the film now, the better."
1990 in film
The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
British-Italian drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
starring Debra Winger
Debra Winger
Mary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
and John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
. The film is based on the 1949 novel
The Sheltering Sky
The Sheltering Sky is a 1949 novel by Paul Bowles. The story centers on Port and Kit Moresby, a married couple originally from New York who travel to the North African desert accompanied by their friend Tunner...
by Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator.Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris...
(who narrates the film and appears in a cameo role) about a couple who journey to northern Africa in the hopes of rekindling their marriage but soon fall prey to the dangers that surround them.
Cast
- Debra WingerDebra WingerMary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
as Kit Moresby - John MalkovichJohn MalkovichJohn Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
as Port Moresby - Campbell ScottCampbell ScottCampbell Scott is an American actor, director, producer, and voice artist.-Life and career:Scott was born in New York City, the son of George C. Scott, an actor, director, and producer, and Colleen Dewhurst, a Canadian-born actress. He graduated from Lawrence University in 1983. His brother is...
as George Tunner - Jill Bennett as Mrs. Lyle
- Timothy SpallTimothy SpallTimothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...
as Eric Lyle - Eric Vu-An as Belqassim
- Amina Annabi as Mahrnia
- Philippe Morier-GenoudPhilippe Morier-Genoud-Selected filmography:* Confidentially Yours * Au revoir les enfants * Cyrano de Bergerac * Safe Conduct -Reference:...
as Captain Broussard
Plot
Three Americans from New York arrive in TangierTangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
in 1947. Port Moresby (John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
) and his wife Kit (Debra Winger
Debra Winger
Mary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
) are accompanied by their friend George Tunner (Campbell Scott
Campbell Scott
Campbell Scott is an American actor, director, producer, and voice artist.-Life and career:Scott was born in New York City, the son of George C. Scott, an actor, director, and producer, and Colleen Dewhurst, a Canadian-born actress. He graduated from Lawrence University in 1983. His brother is...
) on a trip that will take them deep into the Sahara Desert. Tunner observes, "We're probably the first tourists they've had since the war" to which Kit replies, "We're not tourists. We're travelers." While Tunner plans to return home in a few weeks, Port and Kit plan on staying for a year or two.
While awaiting transportation to a hotel, the group meets the Lyles – Mrs. Lyle (Jill Bennett), a travel writer and her son Eric (Timothy Spall
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...
). After arriving at the hotel, Port invites Kit to accompany him for a walk of the city. After refusing and rebuffing his romantic advances, Port angrily leaves. During his walk he meets a prostitute (Amina Annabi). The two have sex and the prostitute attempts to steal his wallet. Port quickly leaves and is chased by a mob.
The next morning Tunner arrives at Kit's room to take her shopping. Not wanting Tunner to know that Port stayed out all night, she removes the covers from his bed to make it appear that he slept there. As Kit and Tunner are preparing to leave, a disheveled Port arrives. Seeing his bed, he assumes that Tunner spent the night with Kit.
Port and Kit once again encounter the Lyles and are offered a ride in their car to their next destination but are informed that there is no room for Tunner. Port accepts the ride with the Lyles while Kit takes the train with Tunner. Tunner and Kit awake the next morning in Kit's room after a drunken tryst.
Suspicious of Kit's relationship with Tunner, Port arranges for Eric Lyle to provide Tunner with transportation to Messad
Messad
Messad is a town in Algeria. It is about 180 miles south of Algiers. During the Roman period it was known as Castellum Dimmidi after the Romans under emperor Septimius Severus seized the settlement...
on the pretext that Port and Kit will meet him later. Eric agrees but also steals Port's passport.
In Bounoura
Bounoura
Bounoura is a city in Bounoura District, Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. As of 1998 it had a population of 27,800.-References:...
, Port discovers his passport missing. Even after being informed by local officials that the passport can be recovered in Messad, Port decides to proceed to El Ga'a with Kit in order to avoid a meeting with Tunner. Port then contracts typhoid
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
and dies at a French foreign legion post leaving Kit alone deep in the Sahara.
Kit wanders in the desert until she is rescued by a caravan
Camel train
A camel train is a series of camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made camel trains a vital part of...
led by Belqassim (Eric Vu-An). After the caravan arrives at Belqassim's home, he disguises Kit as a boy and locks her in a guest house. Although held captive, Kit welcomes Belqassim's advances and the two begin an affair. Kit is soon discovered by Belqassim's wives who order her to leave. Kit finds herself disoriented in the local marketplace and is found in a hospital by staff of the American embassy. She is transported back to Tangier where she began her journey and is told that Tunner is waiting for her. After arriving at the hotel, Kit flees into the city before Tunner can meet her.
Critical reception
The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 43 percent of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 21 reviews.
Among those praising the film was New York Times film critic Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
, who described it as a "long, beautifully modulated cry of despair." In 1998, Paul Bowles wrote a new preface to the novel in which he stated "the less said about the film now, the better."
Wins
- BAFTA Award for Best CinematographyBAFTA Award for Best Cinematography-Best Cinematography - Colour:* 1963 - From Russia with Love - Ted Moore** Nine Hours to Rama – Arthur Ibbetson** The Running Man – Robert Krasker** Sammy Going South – Erwin Hillier** The Scarlet Blade – Jack Asher...
(Vittorio StoraroVittorio StoraroVittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. is an Italian cinematographer.In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild judged Storaro one of history's ten most influential cinematographers.-Biography:...
) - Golden Globe for Best Original Score Motion PictureGolden Globe Award for Best Original ScoreThe Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
(Ryuichi SakamotoRyuichi SakamotoAfter working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
, Richard HorowitzRichard HorowitzRichard Horowitz is a composer, producer, arranger, and musician .He is best known for his work on The Sheltering Sky, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, which was awarded the 1990 Golden Globe and LA Film Critics Music Awards; Any Given Sunday, directed by Oliver Stone, which was awarded the 2000...
) - New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best CinematographyNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best CinematographyThe New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography is one of the annual awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
(Vittorio Storaro) - Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music (Ryuichi SakamotoRyuichi SakamotoAfter working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
, Richard Horowitz)
Nominations
- BAFTA Award for Best Production DesignBAFTA Award for Best Production DesignList of winners of the BAFTA Awards from 1964 to the present in the category "Best Production Design".-1960s:Best British Production Design - Black and White1964: Dr...
(Gianni Silvestri) - Golden Globe Award for Best Director — Motion Picture (Bernardo BertolucciBernardo BertolucciBernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
)