An American couple travel abroad to revitalize their relationship. But as the trip drags on, their attempt at recovering what they once had seems futile.An American couple travel abroad to revitalize their relationship. But as the trip drags on, their attempt at recovering what they once had seems futile.An American couple travel abroad to revitalize their relationship. But as the trip drags on, their attempt at recovering what they once had seems futile.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 9 wins & 8 nominations total
- Abdelkader
- (as Sotigui Kouyate)
- Smail
- (as Ben Smail)
- Mohamed
- (as Afifi Mohamed)
- Miss Ferry
- (as Carolyn de Fonseca)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPaul Bowles, author - and thinly disguised subject - of the autobiographical novel on which the film is based, said, "It should never have been filmed. The ending is idiotic and the rest is pretty bad." This quote comes from a rare interview that was part of the film Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles (1998).
- GoofsThe crew is reflected in the mirror when Kit gets out of bed alone.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Narrator: Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well, yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.
- SoundtracksGoulov Limma
Performed by Chaba Zahouania
Courtesy of Mango/Island/PolyGram Records
by arrangement with PolyGram Special Markets
© 1990 Island Records Ltd.
It's a grand meandering story about being aimless. It's not just about being aimless but there is also a pointlessness about the movie. The location shoots are wonderfully exotic. Malkovich is chewing up the scenes and Spall is being weird. However the movie struggles to find a meaning.
- SnoopyStyle
- Jul 16, 2015
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Himmel über der Wüste
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,075,084
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $82,753
- Dec 16, 1990
- Gross worldwide
- $2,075,084
- Runtime2 hours 18 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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