Wolke 9

An old lady falls in love with an old man, not her husband. She and the old man have wonderful sex, and she finds herself compelled to continue against her wishes "I didn't want this" she will say again and again. It is a bit alarming, this portrayal of a mature woman in a good relationship, with a daughter, grandchildren, a good an settled life when she finds herself acting methodically but out of control... she is filled with desire for this new man's company, and out of a sense of honesty she is compelled to tell her husband and indeed, leave him. "I didn't want this" she will say... This is not a young thing, inexperienced, taken away by some mad youthful forbidden fling, This is an adult, a mature and capable woman who is nonetheless taken up as if she were just that young thing, bereft of responsibility, consumed and driven to pursue that new love, wonderfully fresh. How can this not destroy her family? "I didn't want this." It is a little bit frightening, that for all she has, her emotions can pull her away and out of her family, surely able to know the damage that must be done but unable to experience that created pain against the overwhelming passion she has incautiously stumbled into. A lovely, revealing, cautionary tale. The audience itself seems similarly drawn in, enjoying the romance but unwilling to accept what would clearly be an expected outcome: pain.

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 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).

I was disappointed by this movie. The meaning in German Wolke 9 or Cloud nine means that a person is full of happiness through being in love and passion with another person, hence sailing on Cloud 9. I don't argue that this could not happen to a well mature couple, but it was lacking in this movie. From an aesthete point of view it was not necessary to show closes ups of the aged bodies. I remember the movie Cocoon, which had a lot more sense, action and humor, also relating to older couples that enjoy or rediscover love and passion. Even the few spoken dialogs were motionless. I believe that the story had more potential than it showed. Well, just my opinion.

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.