Days and Clouds offers a sensitive, hyperrealistic depiction of one couple’s experiences with economic trouble. Add in subtle and mature filmmaking, and you have a very worthwhile film, indeed.
The fine Italian film Days and Clouds reminds us of the very real human cost of economic trouble. Its protagonist, Michele, has thus far enjoyed a successful career as a businessman. He and his wife, Elsa, live the good life with a fine apartment, domestic help, and a boat for recreation. But the couple lives in the same unstable world that we do, and financial trouble falls upon them. Michele is pushed out of his company, and his pride prevents him from telling Elsa that their high lifestyle is no longer sustainable.
They continue to live it up as their reserves drain. Finally, after a lavish birthday party, Michele decides that he must share his terrible secret. His secrecy took the sense of partnership out of their marriage, and Elsa is as dismayed at having been kept in the dark as she is by her new circumstances. The combination inevitably takes a toll on their relationship.
Stories that come so close to today’s realities can be troubling. Still, dramatically exploring these realities can offer up advice that can be helpful to anyone. This sensitive, hyperrealistic depiction of a couple’s experiences—combined with subtle and mature filmmaking—makes Days and Clouds the worthwhile film that it is. Hopefully, most of us can draw from this experience without having to go through it personally.