A Walk in the Clouds (1995)

A Walk In The Clouds
While this is not the best movie ever made, it does have a magical quality to it that I find compelling. While Keanu Reeves isn't close to being amoung the world's great actors, I believe his " wooden " non-acting, acting is right for this role. There is lovely cinamatography and outstanding performances by Anthony Quinn and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon and Giancarlo Giannini. Watch it .... you won't be disapointed.

An Ultimate Love Story, with all the trimmings
If you want a well rounded, thoughtful and poignant tale about Fate and Love, change and hope, A Walk in the Clouds is the perfect, pitter-patter, sigh and smile tale. An ultimate classic and favorite! And after all these years, it still rings true and earnest as it ever did.

Paul Sudden has just returned from 4 years of war. As an orphan who has never known what a true family is about, he clung to the hasty marriage with a women who is a mere stranger (Debra Messing, well acted, though not in the film much but is very effective as the forget-me-not instant wife, who's indiffernece to Paul propels his realization about taking risks). When pressured to resume an old life he no longer finds appealing, he comes across Victoria, the daugher of a wealthy vinyard owner, Alberto Aragon, who is more than just rough and tough. As Paul learns the state in which Victoria has placed herself, he entangles himself in a family and a Fate that is not of his choosing, though Some Thing--some enigmatic pull seems to draw him in, ensnaring him into an uncertain and unpredictable futre--is completly undeniable. Posing as her husband, in order to defelct and protect Victoria from her overly zealous and traiditonal father, he capitualates to the all too-knowing caprices of the rest of the family, only to find himself falling in love with not only Victoria, but her family. For once, Paul knows what it means to feel, to be loved, to have roots and a future. As he's making his way out of the goregous Napa Valley, he is beginning to understand what he is leaving behind: the fruitful possibilites that is as ripe as the vineyard Victoria grew up in. And makes the ultimate decision...

I never get tired of watching of this movie as I'm now on my third copy. Directed by Alfonso Arau, with incredible scenary, a stellar cast--pitch perfect with a chemistry between the actors that makes you believe in fairy tales--and a wonderful, subtle score, it's pure pefection. Romance, love, drama and angst don't come in a more lively and painstaking style that is both heartbreaking and uplifting.

Anthony Quinn as the clever patiarch of the Aragon clan is a wonderful exegesis to what goes on between Paul and Victoria and the issues of the family. Giancarlo Giannini as Alberto Aragon adds trauma and richness to a tale that could have become just a typical and bland story line. The chemistry between Reeves (whose range isn't that wide though here, PERFECT) and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón is magnetic and engaging. No wonder it won a Golden Globe.

So have that glass a wine, or some chocolate, get comfy and enjoy a tale filled with daring, courage and passion. And, of course, Love.

Her family lives in the Clouds
He loves her, the clouds are vineyards for century her family has been making wine. Great romance.