MovieChat Forums > The Sheltering Sky (1990) Discussion > I still dont get it

I still dont get it

posted 17 years ago by thurrockparanormal
26 replies | jump to latest

Ok so i saw this film when it first come out, i almost walked out on it but i have never done that.
I have posted before that it the worst film i have ever seen, but i have read what you lot have been saying so i got it out just to see if there is anything i missed.

even the first time i saw the film the cinemaphotography and some if the best i have seen.

but sorry this film sucks, it too long, the sound winds me up and a lot of the acting is poor.

so there i was thinking that was it, but it just did not feel right that i could be so wrong so i got the book.

got to say it was not much better.

i gave it my best try but i will have to leave the film to you lot that like it

[–] Keely 16 years ago

If you're a young person I can understand not getting it.
I would have liked the scenery and certain scenes if I had seen this when I was much younger, but wouldn't have had a clue what it was really about
I read the book years later and felt shaken to the core, especially by the last few paragraphs. (The book does a better job than the movie of getting across its theme.)
Wait a few years (or maybe more than a few) and give it another shot

[–] thurrockparanormal 16 years ago

sad to say that i am not young (35).
I saw the film when it first come out and i still stand by my views from then.

if you like this film then great but for me it just did not work.

[–] modiva 16 years ago

Correction, it's not age that matters, it's one's life experience.

[–] hans-lynge-andersen 15 years ago

Well, both my wife and I are 44 years old. She has been married before, so we lack neither age nor life experience. We simply failed to see the point of this movie. Don't get me wrong - it is a wonderful etnographic movie of the African continent. But as we understand it, this movie is about a couple that travels to Africa to try and rekindle their relationship. Why, then, do they not do things together instead of going of on adventures and/or travelling on their own? It doesn't make sense from either a logical or a psychological viewpoint.

[–] [email protected] 15 years ago

I cannot believe this msg.
This cannot be true, no one can be that much wrong. Yes, I get you wrong: it never was ethnographic, it is not to be understood, but felt, and it never was about their relationship, as you call it.
The fist clue you should have spotted is the difference between "tourist" and "traveler" and your expression "a wonderful etnographic movie of the African continent" contains this arrogance that finally kills the characters. The rest, you are too remote to travel to it.
You just missed a masterpiece, and your attitude is a shame.

[–] thurrockparanormal 15 years ago

well if you need life experience to understand this film then it still missed.
as for my life experience well i am not going to go into it but i have loads.....sadly.

[–] [email protected] 15 years ago

I didn't get it for years.
But the way you write (your critic) doesn't sound real. You write like someone who doesn't speak properly. Is there any problem?
You cannot be blamed for not understanding but you can be for not feeling this film is a total master piece.
I cannot believe you are 35. I'd rather believe you are very young and do not handle English very well and that you are ashamed to admit it.
You shouldn't be.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] thurrockparanormal 13 years ago

lol well i am now 38 and still dont get this film.

I was made to see it again and can now say that it the sounds that puts me off the film.

it is still the only film i have ever felt like walking out of.

yes i understand that it an "art" film but coming from a book i still find that hard to take, I have a copy of the book and it is better than the film just......no sound for a start.

the acting is better than i gave it credit for, but i still think its too long and could have been made much better than it was.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 13 years ago

Maybe he/she still doesn't get it. You must be right, masterpieces are not for everyone...

[–] RobbieCalifornia 13 years ago

But as we understand it, this movie is about a couple that travels to Africa to try and rekindle their relationship. Why, then, do they not do things together instead of going of on adventures and/or travelling on their own? It doesn't make sense from either a logical or a psychological viewpoint.

Do you know how stuffy you sound? The film was based on a book, one of the better books of the 20th century.

And how boring would it be to see some couple traveling around blabbing about their marriage? I know the film isn't for everyone, but understand where the film came from.

[–] [email protected] 13 years ago

Thanks, mgtbltp for the loyalty and clearness of your analysis.
This thurrock is quite paranormal. Of course his answers tell of a mistake that happened in a written matter supra (or before) resulting from a mechanical failure of some kind upstairs, although reflecting his essential and genuine character limited to the explicit meaning of things, lacking stylistic embellishment of the clearest kind although surviving on emphasis without any interpretation, just as "repetition" was never used here, if we consider it literally, as the last adverb is the key to this paragraph.

[–] Gus-69 12 years ago

Your writing makes no sense.

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http://mulhollandcinelog.wordpress.com/

[–] caroline-phelan 10 years ago

Oh dear, he wasn't actually slating the movie, simply saying that he, personally, didn't "get" it!!! Do you have to attack him for having an opinion that differs from yours?

And I too, have absolutely no idea what you are saying in your paragraph above but it appears that you might be insulting someone???

[–] makingmovies 10 years ago

Strange people... Always talking about egos, but denying it.
The subject on this board is "The Sheltering Sky" not the PERSONAL opinion of so-and-so, if he doesn't have any other argument than "I didn't get it" or "I don't like" or "I like", why does he write what he writes on this board? It doesn't improve the board in any way.
You must realise that you or him don't have to agree to the fact that this film has been labeled a masterpiece by many, it doesn't really matter. But what is important is what do you bring to this conversation (board) by saying "I didn't get it" or "I don't like" or "it's too long" ? I am not "attacking him for having an opinion that differs from mine", I am just saying he doesn't have any opinion.

If you have an argument (a real one) about this film, speak up!
I and many others will be interested to read it. That's what a board is for.

Sincerely,

[–] Strazdamonas 13 years ago

English isnt the first language for everybody.

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All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for enough good men to do nothing.

[–] marilynnewman 8 years ago

I'm 70, I'm afraid, it is a stupid book, & I imagine it's a stupid film made from a stupid book. I've never accepted anyone's attempt to dominate me. Usually, they limp away, crying. So, I'll never see any point to it.

[–] andym87 12 years ago

i think this is the funniest thread i've ever read on IMDB.

"

- But as we understand it, this movie is about a couple that travels to Africa to try and rekindle their relationship. Why, then, do they not do things together instead of going of on adventures and/or travelling on their own? It doesn't make sense from either a logical or a psychological viewpoint.

- Do you know how stuffy you sound?

"

PURE GOLD!

[–] wim-vorster 11 years ago

shame. Don't watch intellectual movies and then even worse, comment on them. Stick to what your intelligence allows you to appreciate

[–] ofumalow 11 years ago

Yeesh, what a snippy thread. This film is not for everyone. I love it, yet I can understand why other people find it boring and aimless. Just because they do doesn't mean they're "wrong" or "don't get it." Bertolucci films tend to be divisive. Get over yourselves, people, the greatness of art is subjective, not something you can prove as scientific "fact" and then ridicule others for "not getting."

[–] zolazona 11 years ago

Yeah, I always get irritated by threads like this. The OP says "the acting is better than i gave it credit for, but i still think its too long and could have been made much better than it was." Why not explain HOW it could have been made better and WHY it seemed too long to you? The others who hint at some nebulous something or other to show how deeply intelligent and above the norm they are because they indeed liked and understood it... why don't they share WHY the movie was good????

I liked the movie but I thought it had flaws. If they were going to use Bowles as a narrator, they should have used him more. We get a glimpse into the lead male character Port (I guess because Bowles is a man and can explain himself better) but we are only left with few clues as to what drives Kit. We have Port/Bowles assessment of her quirky neurotic character but nothing much is explained or illustrated THROUGH her. She remains complexly befuddled. At least to me. Yeah, I got it that they had an unhappy marriage and were dispiritedly trying to revive it, but the story became a sharing of Kit's journey at the very large significant portion of the *end*. It was a beautifully viewing movie at that point, but I became detached from Kit AND their/her story.

[–] thurrockparanormal 9 years ago

I have to laugh at this thread. I am now 43 ....yes you lot "I still don't get it"
it is still the only film I wanted to walk out of. I felt that it was stuck far up its own butt. intellectual movies ? hmm or a movie that some feel that if they post they like it then they are intellectual. well going by some of the posts its clear that it not true.

I have since shown this film to my Students, oh and they don't get it but they used stronger words than me than me. words you cant post on here.

[–] zolazona 9 years ago

Well, anyone reading this can come to the conclusion that even though you have grown older, you are either incapable and/or unwilling to explain why you didn't like the movie.

AND you could give the reasons why your students disliked it, beyond throwing in that they used 'stronger words than me'.

I wanted to walk out of "Legends of the Fall" and I could give you MANY reasons for it beyond just stating that "I wanted to walk out of a movie because I didn't get it".

[–] seashellz 9 years ago

but thurockparanormal-

whats not to like?
the hero kills the villain and gets the girl

there are screeching car chases shoot outs, explosions and a lot of hot near naked foxes in tight skirts!

Add to that the rocking soundtrack of Meagan Trainor, and you have a MASTERPIECE!!!

voila!