Beyond the Clouds (1995)

Beyond the Clouds (Italian: Al di là delle nuvole; French: Par-delà les nuages) is a 1995 anthology romance film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and Wim Wenders, from a screenplay written by Antonioni, Wenders and Tonino Guerra. It stars an ensemble cast, featuring John Malkovich, Sophie Marceau, Vincent Perez, Irène Jacob, Jean Reno, Fanny Ardant, Chiara Caselli, Kim Rossi Stuart, Peter Weller, Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau.

The film consists of four stories of romantic love and illusion told from the perspective of a wandering film director (played by Malkovich). In the first story, two beautiful young lovers are unable to consummate their passion because the young man desires impossible perfection. In the second story, the director makes love to a young woman who reveals that she murdered her father. In the third story, a man makes an effort to appease both his wife and his mistress. In the fourth story, a young man is infatuated with a girl who is about to enter a convent.

A co-production between Italian, French and German companies, Beyond the Clouds was based on Antonioni's 1986 book That Bowling Alley on the Tiber. It was conceived by Wim Wenders as a comeback for the then-retired filmmaker, who had been semi-retired since 1982 (with Identification of a Woman). It was the final feature-length film by Antonioni before his death in 2007.