Clouds: Letters to My Son

Clouds: Letters to My Son

2001 · 76 min · ★ 7.0 · Documentary, Romance

Marion Hänsel directed this personal meditation on the joys and responsibilities of parenthood, in which a narrator reads Hansel's philosophic musings on raising her young son on her own, while carefully shot and selected footage of different cloud formations from around the world provide a striking visual backdrop. Catherine Deneuve read Hänsel's text in the original French-language version of Nuages; Charlotte Rampling did the honors for the English-language print, while Barbara Auer, Carmen Maura, and Antje De Boeck respectively lent their voices to the German, Spanish, and Dutch editions of the film.

Directed by Marion Hänsel · Written by Marion Hänsel

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Amazon VideoApple TV Store

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 54m together

Clouds: Letters to My Son

No Man's Land

Both from Marion Hänsel.

More from Marion HänselSee all →

The Silent PacificThe Silent Pacific · 1984
The Silent Pacific
9.01984
MovieDrama
Unrelenting pessimism dominates this slow-paced, dark film, the debut feature from director Digna Sinke dedicated to an archetypal born loser named Marian (Josee Ruiter). Marian is a journalist who has been working in Latin America and who arrives home just after her father dies to find out that the man she had married for purely political reasons might be deported because the authorities found out he was not living with her. Meanwhile, Marian is upset that her mother and sister are keeping her mentally handicapped brother in an institution, and she goes there to get him released into her custody -- a mistake it turns out. He is actually worse off with her, and vice-versa. On top of everything, Marian cannot break away from the depression she feels over a tragic incident that happened while she was in Latin America -- and anything she does is colored by that moment from the past. These burdens become almost too much to bear, both for Marian and the viewers.
The Voyages of Matisse, Chasing LightThe Voyages of Matisse, Chasing Light · 2020
The Voyages of Matisse, Chasing Light
8.02020
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Matisse's birth and of the exhibition at the Center Pompidou which will be dedicated to him in 2020, this art documentary brings us back to life of the journeys made by Matisse that influenced his art. And particularly his last trip to Polynesia in 1930 which will bring him to the threshold of contemporary art with the invention of his gouache cut-out papers.
No Man's LandNo Man's Land · 2001
No Man's Land
7.52001
MovieActionHistory
Two soldiers from opposite sides get stuck between the front lines in the same trench. The UN is asked to free them and both sides agree on a ceasefire, but will they stick to it?
The LineThe Line · 1978
The Line
7.51978
SeriesDramaWar & Politics
The series follows a group of Allied pilots who crashed in occupied territories during WWII. A network of civilians and Resistance fighters, "La Filière", is in charge of helping them pass from France to Spain so they can avoid capture.
ZagrosZagros · 2017
Zagros
7.32017
MovieDrama
Zagros (26) is a shepherd who lives in a Kurdish village with his pregnant wife Havin and their daughter. His father tells him that people gossip about Havin: there are rumours of her having an affair. Zagros brushes his father’s concerns away as he trusts his wife and refuses to give credit to the rumours. Later, while Zagros tends to his sheep, he learns that his family have accused Havin of adultery and locked her up. Zagros returns to his village but finds his wife and daughter gone. Havin has fled to the west with their daughter and unborn child. Zagros, believing his wife’s innocence and opposing his father, travels to Istanbul and meets a smuggler who can take him to the west…
One Sings, the Other Doesn'tOne Sings, the Other Doesn't · 1977
One Sings, the Other Doesn't
7.21977
MovieDramaMusic
The intertwined lives of two women in 1970s France, set against the progress of the women's movement in which Agnes Varda was involved. Pomme and Suzanne meet when Pomme helps Suzanne obtain an abortion after a third pregnancy which she cannot afford. They lose contact but meet again ten years later. Pomme has become an unconventional singer, Suzanne a serious community worker - despite the contrast they remain friends and share in the various dramas of each others' lives, in the process affirming their different female identities.
There Was a Little ShipThere Was a Little Ship · 2019
There Was a Little Ship
7.02019
MovieDocumentary
A woman, hospitalized for a relatively long period, observes what surrounds her. She has time to dream, to revisit certain moments of her life. These memories, like small bubbles begin with her birth in Marseille in 1949 and bring us to Antwerp, Paris, New York, England… to end in Flanders in 2015, after she gets out of the hospital. There Was A Little Ship is a filmic-biographical essay, sincere and poetic.
Blueberry HillBlueberry Hill · 1989
Blueberry Hill
6.61989
MovieComedyDrama
Antwerp in the fifties. Robin de Hert grew up in a Catholic parochial environment; on the one hand there is his authoritarian father and the sadistic secretary of the Catholic boys technical school, on the other hand there are the 'Grieten' and the French teacher with whom Robin is getting a good band through a secret they share. If the secretary finds out about this secret, this has major implications for both the teacher and the students ...
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue SeaBetween the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea · 1995
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
6.61995
MovieDrama
A Greek-Irish sailor becomes friends with a 10-year-old sampan girl while his freighter is docked in Hong Kong.
Cirkus ColumbiaCirkus Columbia · 2010
Cirkus Columbia
6.52010
MovieDrama
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1991. After the fall of the communists, Divko Buntić, who has lived in exile in Germany for the past twenty years, returns to the village where he grew up, intent on reclaiming ownership of his family home, driving a swanky Mercedes and accompanied by his young bride; by Bonny, his lucky black cat; and with pockets full of money.
Come UndoneCome Undone · 2000
Come Undone
6.42000
MovieRomanceDrama
Story of two gorgeous, young French boys who begin a passionate relationship that boils over and threatens to destroy both their lives. Shy 18-year-old Mathieu is on summer vacation in the south of France. He spends his days lazily sunning himself at the beach, until he spies the handsome Cédric and falls in love.
HellHell · 2005
Hell
6.12005
MovieDrama
Three sisters who share a connection to a violent childhood incident reunite for the chance to come to terms with their past.
Sounds of SandSounds of Sand · 2007
Sounds of Sand
6.12007
MovieDramaWar
On the one hand, there’s the desert eating away at the land. The endless dry season, the lack of water. On the other there’s the threat of war. The village well has run dry. The livestock is dying. Trusting their instinct, most of the villagers leave and head south. Rahne, the only literate one, decides to head east with his three children and Mouna, his wife. A few sheep, some goats, and Chamelle, a dromedary, are their only riches. A tale of exodus, quest, hope and fatality.
The Whaler BoyThe Whaler Boy · 2020
The Whaler Boy
5.92020
MovieDrama
Everything changes in the life of a young 15-year-old Chukchi hunter Lyoshka with the advent of the Internet in the village. He falls in love – for the first time and deeply – with the silent video chat girl. Upon learning that she lives in Detroit, Lyoshka decides on the most desperate act in his life.
La tendresseLa tendresse · 2013
La tendresse
5.82013
MovieComedyDrama
This is the first film by Hänsel based entirely on her own script and gives a wise and loving significance to the concept of personal and anecdotal. With beautiful leading roles by Canto as mother and Gourmet as her ex. Together, they drive to a ski resort to fetch their son, a ski instructor with a broken leg.
Gilles' WifeGilles' Wife · 2004
Gilles' Wife
5.82004
MovieDrama
Gilles' wife, Elise, who smiles when she thinks of him, cooks and scrubs and cheerfully makes love to him, suspects during her third pregnancy that he is having an affair with her coquettish younger sister, Victorine. Elise suffers, usually in silence. She listens to her husband rave; she asks her priest; she breaks picture frames; she weeps. She decides on a strategy to keep him. Will she succeed?

More Like This

The Brady Bunch MovieThe Brady Bunch Movie · 1995
The Brady Bunch Movie
6.11995
MovieFamilyComedy
The original '70s TV family is now placed in the 1990s, where they're even more square and out of place than ever.
Home for the HolidaysHome for the Holidays · 1995
Home for the Holidays
6.31995
MovieComedyDrama
After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson faces spending the holiday with her unhinged family.
Grease 2Grease 2 · 1982
Grease 2
5.31982
MovieComedyMusic
It's 1961, two years after the original Grease gang graduated, and there's a new crop of seniors and new members of the coolest cliques on campus, the Pink Ladies and T-Birds. Michael Carrington is the new kid in school - but he's been branded a brainiac. Can he fix up an old motorcycle, don a leather jacket, avoid a rumble with the leader of the T-Birds, and win the heart of Pink Lady Stephanie?
Now and ThenNow and Then · 1995
Now and Then
6.91995
MovieComedyDrama
Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty, four childhood girlfriends — Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta — recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more.
John Tucker Must DieJohn Tucker Must Die · 2006
John Tucker Must Die
6.12006
MovieComedyRomance
After discovering they are all dating the same same guy, three popular students from different cliques band together for revenge, so they enlist the help of a new gal in town and conspire to break the jerk's heart, while destroying his reputation.
MicrocosmosMicrocosmos · 1996
Microcosmos
7.61996
MovieDocumentary
A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.
Take My EyesTake My Eyes · 2003
Take My Eyes
7.22003
MovieRomanceDrama
One winter night, Pilar runs away from home. With her, she takes only a few belongings and her son, Juan. Antonio soon sets out to look for her. He says Pilar is his sunshine, and what's more, "She gave him her eyes"...
The Virgin SuicidesThe Virgin Suicides · 2000
The Virgin Suicides
7.12000
MovieDramaRomance
A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter