The Sheltering Sky (1990)

50% of critics liked it
(24 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(5,196 ratings)

From director Bernardo Bertolucci, The Sheltering Sky is a filmed adaptation of the novel of the same name by Paul Bowles. Debra Winger and John Malkovich star as Kit and Port Moresby, a married American couple who globetrot to North Africa in the late '40s with the hopes of re-sparking their love… More From director Bernardo Bertolucci, The Sheltering Sky is a filmed adaptation of the novel of the same name by Paul Bowles. Debra Winger and John Malkovich star as Kit and Port Moresby, a married American couple who globetrot to North Africa in the late '40s with the hopes of re-sparking their love and adding some zest to their lackluster lives. Along for the ride is the pair's friend George Tunner (Campbell Scott), who soon begins having an affair with Kit. As they struggle through the numbing heat of Africa amidst the sudden love triangle, each of the trio sees his and her beliefs and lives challenged. The Sheltering Sky earned a Best Director nomination for Bertolucci at the 1991 Golden Globe Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 19 min.
Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1990 Wide
On DVD: May 14, 2002
Studio: Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
A disappointingly reductive adaptation of Paul Bowles's first novel.
Variety Staff, Variety
Those who haven't read the book will be left bewildered.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
A long, beautifully modulated cry of despair.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The book is so complete, so deep and so self-contained that it shuts the movie out. Bertolucci shows us the outsides and the surfaces, and a person seeing this movie without having read the book might ask what it is about.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Bowles's gentle, avian features, the obvious wisdom of his years and his distinctive presence are practically worth the price of admission.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
[A] frustrating, monotonously obscure movie.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Filled with stunning visuals.
, Film4
Disappointing.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Brimming with obscure meaning and devoid of drive and fervor, the film dries up in that symbolic desert sun, the victim of its own pretensions and a casualty of trying to film something best suited to the realm of cult literature.
, Time Out
As you'd expect, it's a big, handsome film, rich and strange in psychological depths and eroticism. Malkovich and Winger play woundingly well.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Bertolucci's grand desert epic gets stuck in the sand right at the start.
Daniel M. Kimmel, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
(No quote available.)
James Sanford, James Sanford on Film
Soul searching is rarely a thrill a minute but it's rarely as tedious as this. ...Oscar-bait it may be, but "The Sheltering Sky" is more deserving of the First Annual Chicken Little Award.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
One of those movies where you know they're trying to say something important, but it's just not coming across.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

The worst!!! When its finally over you find yourself asking, how can so many talented people make something this pretentious and odious.
Mike T

I would feel like I was overlooking some considerable flaws if I called this movie perfect, but I am perfectly okay with saying that I loved it. Bertolucci's direction is as powerful as ever, controlling tone and atmosphere with the precision we expect from him. This is among his… More
I would feel like I was overlooking some considerable flaws if I called this movie perfect, but I am perfectly okay with saying that I loved it. Bertolucci's direction is as powerful as ever, controlling tone and atmosphere with the precision we expect from him. This is among his most visually beautiful work, with Vittorio Storaro's cinematography providing aesthetic poetry in almost every scene. Peculiarly constructed and sometimes confusing, I found this film's debatable narrative faults to be conducive to its overall effect. John Malkovich and Debra Winger are outstanding, and there are plenty of strong supporting performances as well. A beautiful, unnerving epic drama.
Audrey L

A painfully long movie...
Anthony V

Bertolucci's worst film. I would rather tear my eyes out than see this again.