The Sheltering Sky
Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci
UK, Italy, 1990, English, 132mins, DCP
Cast: Debra Winger, John Malkovich, Campbell Scott
In the aftermath of the Second World War, a wealthy American couple, Kit and Port Moresby, travel from New York to Algeria in North Africa, together with their friend George Tunner. Their efforts to rekindle their stagnant marriage soon flounder, and as they travel deeper into the desert wilderness, each embark on their own doomed journey of self-discovery. Adapted from the novel by Paul Bowles, who also enjoys a cameo as the film’s omniscient narrator, Bertolucci’s ambitious, sprawling follow-up to his Academy Award-winning epic The Last Emperor is an erotically-charged exploration of contrasting cultures and collapsing colonialism set against a breathtaking yet ruthlessly uninviting expanse of emptiness, elevated by Vittorio Storaro’s jaw-dropping cinematography and an award-winning score from Sakamoto Ryuichi.
BAFTA Awards: Best Cinematography
Golden Globe Awards: Best Original Score
30/5(Sat): Film talk with David Chan
EMP Cinemas Times Square (TS) (Venue)
Chinese Subtitles
Post-screening talk
