Ursula Werner & Horst Westphal

We live in a country fed by an entertainment machine that comes with two settings, typically. For example? Stories in which senior citizens engage in any sort of physical relationship on screen tend to be (A) nonexistent, or (B) adorably raunchy, in the Betty White comic-relief mode.

The 2008 German film "Cloud 9," which is being distributed by Chicago's own Music Box Films, makes a case for a third, broader and more expansive image of mature sexuality. It's a small picture but a good one, truthfully acted and calmly compelling.

In East Berlin, 67-year-old Inge runs a sewing business out of the apartment she shares with her husband of 30 years, Werner. Director Andreas Dresen drops us into a tantalizing situation without any forewarning: Acting on impulse and clearly drawn by something, Inge delivers a pair of trousers to the door of 76-year-old Karl. The customer is taken aback at this unexpected visit but senses something in the air. She leans in; he leans in. Thus begins an affair, and as these two explore a clandestine new life together, Inge is torn between obligations and possibilities.

"Cloud 9" dispenses with many things. There's no conventional musical score, which is the correct decision. Dresen, who developed the script with three co-writers, allows his actors to establish a rhythm and a rapport without much hype in the editing department. He favors long takes in close-up, and he likes his actors sharing a frame. So do we. Horst Westphal and Horst Rehlberg are wonderful and no-nonsense as the new man and the husband, respectively. Ursula Werner's Inge is as expressive in silence as she is in abandon, or anger, or any of the stops in between. All are marvelously unselfconscious, whether they're naked (which is often) or clothed.

The story's simplicity comes with a limitation. The film sometimes feels like a situation, enacted, rather than a full-bodied character study. The style of the picture allows for only so much emotional mess and fuss. Still, this is a considerable and clear-eyed achievement, and it allows both characters and actors their dignity, in every circumstance. I like how Dresen drops us into the middle of certain scenes, such as Inge telling Werner her secret while their coffeemaker, perking away in the kitchen, becomes a character unto itself. The ending is satisfying without being facile. The heart is a riddle, and "Cloud 9" deftly, wittily counts the ways.

 

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"Cloud 9" Movie Trailer

 

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No MPAA rating (nudity and sexual content).

Running time: 1:35.

Cast: Ursula Werner (Inge); Horst Westphal (Karl); Horst Rehlberg (Werner); Steffi Kuhnert (Petra).

Credits: Directed by Andreas Dresen; written by Dresen, Cooky Ziesche, Laila Stieler and Jorg Hauschild; produced by Peter Rommel. A Music Box Films release. In German with English subtitles. Starts Friday at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.

Cloud 9 is the groundbreaking and lyrical story of a 67-year old married woman who rediscovers passion and her sexuality when she falls in love with a 76-year old man. Cloud 9 won an Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at last years Cannes Film Festival, and the Best Director and Best Actress prizes at this years German Film Awards.