A WALK IN THE CLOUDS
(1995)
Notes: 20 Century Fox. 102 minutes.
Paul Sutton: Keanu Reeves
Victoria Aragon: Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
Don Pedro: Giancarlo Giannini
Alberto Aragon: Anthony Quin
Director: Alfonso Arau
Producers: Gil Netter, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker
Screenplay: Robert Mark Kamen, Mark Miller, and Harvey Weitzman
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki
Music: Maurice Jarre
Adapted from Four Steps in the Clouds (1942)
Summary: Paul Sutton has returned home from the war in1945. Surprisingly, his wife does not show up to meet him whenhe debarks from his ship. Upon arriving at their apartment heis dismayed to learn that she didn’t read more than a few of thehundreds of letters that he sent her. Before she awakens the nextmorning he leaves. This is when he runs into Victoria Aragon.For some reason he keeps running into her: is it fate or poorwriting? He learns that she is terrified to return home becauseshe is pregnant and her father will probably kill her. So beinga gentleman Sutton agrees to pose as her husband for one day andleave the next, thus allowing her to explain her pregnancy withoutshame. However, whenever Sutton attempts to leave, Alberto Aregonpulls Paul aside for a conversation that ends up keeping him onthe vineyard for another day. This same formula is replayed morethan once and the longer that Paul and Victoria stay togetherthe more obvious it becomes to the viewer that they are fallingin love.
Commentary: There are only a few food moments but theystand out. The first food scene treats us to a shot of all thewomen hard at work in the kitchen preparing a meal. The next sceneis the consumption of this dinner. This scene contains a shortclip that shows some delicious looking pheasants. One also learnsthat the recipe for the soup they are eating has been in the familyfor hundreds of years. These short scenes just barely allow thisfilm to be considered an honorable mention as a food film. Also,this film was directed by Alfonso Arua, the director of LikeWater for Chocolate and contains some scenes that are quitesimilar to Like Water for Chocolate.