Simply Perfect

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Native American Ray (Timothy Vahle) heads home after graduating from college to help run his family's shabby ski resort. Believing that Tina (Mariana Tosca), a beautiful lodge guest, is an incognito travel guide critic, he decides to improve the quality of the family business. In reality, Tina is at the lodge in search of romance and, in a twist of fate, ends up falling for Ray. When Stu (M. Emmet Walsh), an actual critic, shows up, he is greeted with the staff's typical disorganization.This film has lots of charm. Its also not a typical Hallmark Christmas film. This film has style & grace. The film is not only romantic but it has great believable characters. Family Safe but most kids under 12 will be bored. I liked this film so much that I will watch it again before Christmas.

As an author and public radio broadcaster, I see a lot of movies, and particularly like Independants. I found Christmas IN THE CLOUDS to rank among the good ones. First, it has a well-written script. The plot is typical comedy: a series of mistaken identities and mishaps that exasserbate the confusion. But the handling of the plot is far from typical. Comedy and tragedy come from the same place, human pathos, and writer Kate Montgomery knows this. So she keeps us balanced between the two, giving the unfolding story just the right amount of tender tension. In addition, she has set up her tale so the audience knows certain things before the characters do. Several times, she brings her protagonists to the verge of understanding, only to jerk everyone away, and send them spinning in a new direction. The near misses add to the playful build of plot and character. Christmas IN THE CLOUDS is well shot. The clean cutting follows the story with quiet elegance. There are no special effects, no explosions. The editor did what she had to do to follow the story line. Bravo! The end of the offers a subtle message appropriate to the time of year. It avoids the stereotypes of modern Indian life, presenting instead a gentle look at feelings, actions, and reactions universal to all of us. Kate Montgomery also directed the film, and she asked her actors to play the situation, not the laugh. As a result, the humor is genuinely funny, as it would be if any of us encountered a goofy situation and laughed at it. Though rated PG, the film's PG scenes are gentle and realistic, never vulgar, sensational, or nasty. The opening builds a bit slowly, and it takes some time to get into the pace of the film, but once you can, Christmas IN THE CLOUDS is fun, witty and will be a joy for the whole family.

I saw Christmas In The Clouds at The Galaxy Theatre in San Francisco (Nov. 2005) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is so refreshing to watch a non-Hollywood movie at a big theatre house. The movie had a very European feel to it even though it is set in America and takes place among Native Americans.The whole film was beautifully paced, the script writing was spot on, and the humor was wonderful. I highly recommend going to this movie while it is showing at the theatres.Also worth noting (in these hard times for public education) is that all proceeds from the November screenings are apparently being donated to schools.

I saw this film in an almost-completed version a couple of years ago at the Palm Springs Native American Film Festival. The audience loved it. A lot of people have been waiting with crossed fingers hoping it would find a distributor for a big nationwide release.It's fresh like the mountain air of it's setting. It's laugh out loud funny and somehow manages to be heart warming without being schmaltzy. The cast of newcomers and old favorites like Graham Greene and Rita Coolidge deliver fine performances in every role. Couldn't have come at a better time. We can celebrate this delightful holiday surprise for the whole family together at the movies!