Head in the Clouds

views updated

Head in the Clouds ★★ 2004 (R)

Beautiful Theron turns heads as hedonistic socialite Gilda, who briefly storms into the life of shy Irishman Guy (Townsend) in 1933. His torch remains ablaze as she later summons him to Paris, where Gilda is dabbling as a photographer and with a Spanish refugee named Mia (Cruz). Their triangular idyll is troubled by the political idealism displayed by both Mia and Guy, who are committed to the anti-fascist cause in the Spanish Civil War. Gilda feels betrayed when they leave her behind. When Guy finally sees her again in 1944, he's a British spy smuggled into Paris and Gilda is romancing Nazi officer Bietrich (Kretschmann). But is she really the unfeeling collaborator she seems? A plush potboiler with a pretty cast. 124m/C DVD . GB CA Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Stuart Townsend, Thomas Kretschmann, Steven Berkoff, Karine Vanasse, Gabriel Hogan, David LaHaye, Peter Cockett, John Jorgenson, John Robinson, Lisa Bronwyn Moore; D: John Duigan; W: John Duigan; C: Paul Sarossy; M: Terry Frewer.