Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful movie
Review: This is truly a wonderful romantic movie! The acting of the hispanic actors is superb, and the scenenic landscape of the vineyard (where most of the story takes place) is absolutely beautiful. I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good romantic plot!
Rating:
Summary: Magical, romantic, meaningful.
Review: When I use the term Adult Fairytale, some might think of films like, "The Princess Bride" or "Ever After" but "A Walk in the Clouds" is a more suitable example. Director Alfonso Arau has created a magical story peopled by outsized characters and placed in a spiritual world called the Aragon Estate. The film permits we mere mortals to visit this world, a Spanish style winery nestled in California's Napper Valley. We arrive along with Paul Sutton, Keanu Reeves; a stranger in a strange land.Paul's background is economically exposed at the start of the movie. A man returns from World War II, hoping to greet his wife whom he met and married just before shipping out. He dreams of a meaningful life, surrounded by a loving family. His small goals are those of an orphan who has had a lonely life and whose ordeals in battle have condensed his wishes to the simple, important things. Sadly his wife, Betty, is more interested in money and its trappings. She has a lot of spirit but little heart or interest for Paul's modest ambitions. He no sooner arrives than he is pushed out the door to earn some money selling chocolates; a job he wasn't enthusiastic about even before the war. At this point we are still grounded in the real world, although Paul has an unearthly element to him that is hinted at. For example, any soldier that writes a letter to his wife every day, despite receiving virtually no replies, has more than the average dose of hope and optimism. The real world serves as a backdrop for the rest of the film, contrasting starkly with the soft images, haunting score and honest dialogue that characterises life at the Aragon Vineyard. On a train journey to one of his sales calls, Paul meets Victoria Aragon. She forms a bridge, between these two worlds, that Paul traverses in a series of jerks and lurches. A run of accidents result in Paul volunteering to help the beautiful but miserable young woman. I'm certain these accidents represent fate taking a hand in the lives of two who are destined for love. Victoria is played by Aitana Sanchez-Gijon in her first English speaking role. Victoria's problem, being unmarried and pregnant, is magnified by having to face a traditionalist family and a strict and passionate father, Alberto. The solution seems obvious to the chivalrous Paul. He suggests playing the part of her husband, a man who fears responsibility and will soon leave her. In this way Paul hopes her honour will be maintained in the eyes of her family and any bitterness will, instead, fall on his absent shoulders. It is a good plan, only complicated in execution by the couple's growing love and Paul's desire for the rich family life that Victoria takes for granted. The turning point seems to come during a family ritual, performed after picking the harvest. All the married women are enticed into a large wooden vat to crush the grapes. This prosaic activity is actually a lusty and sensual attempt to harness the ancient powers of some fertility god. Not even Paul can stand against Victoria's almost unwitting seduction. This is truly one of the sexiest pieces of footage I can remember seeing; and all without resorting to nudity or the sharing of body fluids. Another rope around Paul's neck is the family's patriarch, Don Pedro Aragón, played with amazing assurance and grace by Anthony Quinn. Don Pedro seems to see through all deceptions, going straight to the heart of the matter. He guides, prods and manipulates Paul to discover, and even pursue, his love of Victoria. In fact if I have any criticism of the film it is that next to Anthony Quinn, Keanu seems like a wooden doll, particularly during the preparations for the drunken serenade. But even this seems appropriate for Paul's character, so inexperienced in the ways of family. Several Journeys take place in the film; Paul's path from orphanage to family, Victoria's reluctant steps from deception to honesty, her father Alberto's change from taskmaster to loving parent. Even the audience takes a journey. We start out wanting to escape our troubles with a little light entertainment and walk away looking inward, trying to decide if we are on a path as fulfilling as that of Paul and the Aragón family. "A Walk in the Clouds" clearly rejects mindless materialism, a philosophy mirrored by Paul's war-bride rejecting him. Instead we are asked to believe that family, honest labour and honour make up the soil our soul should take root in. We may not all have root stock as steeped in tradition as the Aragon's but like Paul, perhaps we will have the sense to recognise rich earth when we see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie
Review: While Keanu Reeves belongs to what I call the "Paper Bag" school of acting (namely, that is, what he couldn't act his way out of) this movie manages a sweet charm all of its own. I believe that many people have discounted this film mainly because of its star (who before recently was known more for playing Ted "Theodore" Logan than Mr. Neo "The One" Anderson). While the film may follow the traditional story of two people pretending to be in love and then actually falling in love, it is told in such a sweet manner that it's hard to find fault with it. Even I find myself getting caught up in the emotions of the film. This movie is filled with humor, drama and in the end makes a nice romantic film. However, if you're looking for hard hitting drama, or extremely though provoking dialogue and plot, this movie isn't for you.
Rating:
Summary: A Sweet, Romantic Film
Review: "A Walk In the Clouds" is a beautiful film filled with love, hope, and overcoming adversity. The film revolves around a candy salesman (Keanu Reeves) who has just returned from WWII only to realize that everything he thought was so important and true to him before he left were no longer. While on a sales assignment, he bumps into a beautiful woman who is on her way home from college. After speaking to her for a while, he discovers she is pregnant. The bad part is that this lady is unmarried and must face her very strict parents. Reeves' character agrees to pretend to be her husband just for show, but ends up falling madly in love with her. The cinematography in this film is exquisite. Most of the movie takes place in one of the most beautiful vineyards ("Las Nubes" or "The Clouds" in the film) I have ever laid eyes on. If you would like to watch a movie filled with a lovely romance and even lovier landscapes, watch this film!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Too much harshness
Review: Sometimes I wish people would enjoy movies without trying to find everything wrong with them. This film is a very nice examination of the cultural conflicts that arise when an "outsider" suddenly has to deal with the dynamics of a close-knit family with a patriarch who is stuck in his ways. Because of the cultural conflict, everyone is forced to deal with their own preconceived notions of what's acceptable and what's not, especially when the father is faced with the possibility of losing his daughter because of his own stubbornness and inflexibility. No, Reeves does not present the best acting performance around, but he works here--the "wooden" side of his character seems to be necessary--this is a young kid, just back from war, who has found out that the woman he married isn't at all what he thought she was. He has to be hurt, confused, afraid, and somewhat lost, and I think it's a mistake to say that these aspects of the character are due to bad acting--they're necessary here if we're to believe the character.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh My God, Was This Ever A Dog!
Review: I tried to watch this film 3 times in 3 days, and never got halfway through. Believe me, I gave it a chance, thinking I was too tired, or too awake, or too stupid to understand what other people find in this film. Sure, the acting was awful. A good actor would improvise and *never* deliver the dreary lines they were dished out with this screenplay. I feel pretty sorry for them, since their careers were set back quite a bit with this junk. Anyone that considers this film a great romance has a lot of film viewing yet to do. Anyone that considers the screenplay well written is probably illiterate. My copy of the DVD is now sitting out on the front curb with my trash, so if anyone wants it they can take it away with the rest of the garbage. Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: Keanu Reeves Is Horrible, But The Movie Is Terrific
Review: Oh, what an enchanting movie this is! I saw the movie in the theater on the day it opened, and have seen it on DVD and on television at least a dozen times since then, and I still feel the charm that oozes from it. The movie takes place in the 1940s, and is about a soldier (Keanu Reeves) named Paul Sutton who has just come home from fighting in World War II. He's coming home to the wife (Debra Messing) who he met, courted, and married just days before shipping off to war. He gets a job as a traveling chocolate salesman and ends up meeting a graduate student named Victoria Aragon (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) on a train to the Napa Valley. One mishap leads to another, and the next thing you know, Victoria tells Paul all about how she had a romantic relationship with one of her professors who impregnated her and then left her, and how her father is going to kill her when he learns of this news. Paul offers to come home with Victoria to her family's vineyard and pretend he's her husband. Upon meeting Paul, Victoria's father (Giancarlo Giannini) is furious, and Paul spends the rest of the movie actually falling in love with Victoria and trying to convince her father to accept their pseudo-marriage. I wish I could summarize this movie into one paragraph, but there's so much beauty in it that I find it hard to compress it all into a few words. The cinematography is the strongest aspect of this movie. You'll be transported into a beautiful Eden-esque valley that seems too good to be true. The only reason I didn't give the movie 5 stars is because Keanu Reeves is an absolutely HORRIBLE actor. There are times in this movie where he's attempting to deliver dramatic lines, and I can't help but to laugh at how much of a fool he makes of himself. He's a very handsome man, but he's absolutely wrong for this part. Giancarlo Giannini delivers a powerful performance, but the real show stealer is Anthony Quinn in his role as Victoria's grandfather and the patriarch of the family. He's benevolently charming and funny, and his performance is magical. Notwithstanding Keanu Reeves' horrible performance, this is a beautiful movie and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: the worst movie I have seen in a long time.
Review: I saw this movie because it was my girlfriends turn to pick,I don't make this mistake anymore. I had only seen Reeves in one movie before & I will never see him in anything again.I knew right at the opening shot of the Napa valley, that it was a digital enhancement, & very poorly done.To say reeves was a block of wood is not nearly enough. Better to say in comparison Dolph Lundgren is a better actor than an electrical engineer. Which brings us to Giancarlo Giannini, not since Paul Muni Played ( you fill in the blank) or Michael Bolton killed ( you fill in the song) has overacting been given a blacker eye. Who wrote this thing,mother goose? Gossamer wings to dry the grape vines? & what was the deal with that fire? the production company must have used more gasoline on that vineyard than a fleet of ford exscursions going to a junior soccer tournament.Did anyone else find it just a little hard to believe Reeves could pull a 100 year old vine out the ground by the roots? I thought this travesty was supposed to be a romantic movie, not a fantasy.It also seems to me whenever I have experienced a fire over fertile ground, that always grows back,usually healthier than before. I guess that was just another little faux pas the writers missed. I cannot say enough bad things about this movie, mostly because it speaks volumes all by itself. A romance? I don't think so.For that to happen, Reeves would have to be capable of loving something other than the camera. How this guy manages to keep finding people to employ him, & fools to spend money to see him is one the great mysteries of all time. Throw your money away, it will be better spent.
Rating:
Summary: ~You wouldn't be sorry if you give this movie a chance~
Review: If you have just one ounce of romance in your heart, you might love this movie. It's like a fairy tale that steps up to steal you away to a beautiful place in the Napa Valley and introduces you into the life of beautiful Hispanic woman, Victoria and her very traditional Hispanic family. There are no outstanding acting performances although it is enjoyable to see Anthony Quinn act the role of an old, and very clever grandfather, even in his old age. The visual effects, i.e the "grape stomping" and the evening when the vineyard is saved from the threat of a frost (the workers and the family have to work together to save the grape vines), these things just have a way of letting you get totally caught up in the story.
Rating:
Summary: Accomplishes exactly what it set out to do
Review: A Walk in the Clouds is not a new, ground-breaking film that challenges the intellect. But it never said it was trying to be. It is the warm, familiar Tollhouse Cookie just out of the oven in a kitchen full of exotic deserts being made, constantly trying to outdo each other.
Keanu Reeves, whom I usually detest, gives a surprisingly warmer side and shows emotion in his dialogue (which is completely free from sexual innuendos and the use of the word "dude"-a first for Mr. Reeves, I believe). Aitana Sánchez-Gijón is a fresh new talent. Giancarlo Giannini has a convincing character of a man who doesn't pull any punches, yet alludes to a deeper, more human side underneath. Anthony Quinn, probably the biggest name in this production, is the warm, sweet grandfather, who has the best lines of the film ("I have faith in my son and I have faith in you.... but your fly is open").
There is a reign of Romanticism in this film, and in the tradition of Like Water for Chocolate, A Walk in the Clouds is designed to evoke the senses, setting the majority of the movie in a rather large Napa vineyard, and having such scenes as the one where the family crushes the grapes (without the assitance of Lucille Ball, I'm afraid). Such scenes are complimented by the music, with a decidedly Mariachi feel.
A Walk in the Clouds is meant to be a film that tells a sweet story of a love that conquers its adversaries (much like many of the MGM movie musicals-Brigadoon comes to mind), and leaves the viewer with a satisfied, warm, feeling at the end. What's perhaps the most remarkable about it is that it succeeds in doing so.
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