Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- harrowing
- compassionate
- sentimental
- social issues discussion
- world cinema evening
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually arresting and emotionally sincere, while judging its social message overly sentimental and its storytelling conventional.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Amir’s drug involvement and Tara’s imprisonment place poor siblings between police authority and predatory vice lords.
Amir seeks refuge with Tara after a drug bust, while Tara depends on him as her hope of returning to life outside prison.
The film repeatedly uses silhouettes alongside imagery of birds to express despair, confinement, and the possibility of hope.
Tara’s imprisonment and the surrounding drug and prostitution economy expose the pressure placed on poor women’s safety.
Films like Beyond the Clouds, and why
Salaam Bombay!
socially conscious urban drama centered on poverty, siblings, and institutional injustice
Slumdog Millionaire
poignant family drama about marginalized children navigating criminalized urban environments
The Magdalene Sisters
empathetic prison and poverty drama focused on women’s vulnerability and constrained choices
Movie Details
- Director
- Majid Majidi
- Release Date
- 2018-04-20
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (25)
Cast
- Ishaan Khatter
- Malavika Mohanan
- Goutam Ghose
- G. V. Sharada
- Tannishtha Chatterjee
- Mia Maelzer
- Heeba Shah
Common questions
- What is Beyond the Clouds about?
- A troubled Mumbai teenager and his imprisoned sister fight to preserve their fragile bond amid drugs, poverty, and a punishing justice system.
- What is Beyond the Clouds like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Beyond the Clouds as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Beyond the Clouds violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Beyond the Clouds as mild.
- What did critics think of Beyond the Clouds?
- Critics broadly found the film visually arresting and emotionally sincere, while judging its social message overly sentimental and its storytelling conventional.
- Which films are like Beyond the Clouds?
- Films with a similar feel include Salaam Bombay!, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Magdalene Sisters.
- How long is Beyond the Clouds?
- Beyond the Clouds runs 120 minutes.
