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Broken Sky
Strand Releasing

6.4 based on 8 reviews Read critic reviews How did we calculate this? based on 9 votes Read user comments Rate this movie

FILM:

• A Thousand Clouds of Peace

• Internet Movie Database
• Official Studio Site

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Klaudia Aragon, Fernando Arroyo, Miguel Ángel Hoppe, Ignacio Pereda, Clarissa Rendón, Alejandro Rojo, Pilar Ruiz, and Ortos Soyuz

Two university students, Gerardo and Jonás, meet on campus and fall passionately in love. They enjoy a blissful romance until Jonás becomes obsessed with another boy and drives Gerardo into the arms of Sérgio. The young men become entangled in a hypnotic dance of love, longing, rejection, validation, and sexual expression. (Strand Releasing)

GENRE(S):	Drama  |  Foreign  |  Gay/Lesbian
WRITTEN BY:	Julián Hernández
DIRECTED BY:	Julián Hernández
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: January 16, 2007  Theatrical: September 29, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	140 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Mexico
LANGUAGE(S):	Spanish (with English subtitles)

Original title "El Cielo Dividido"

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

88

TV Guide Ken Fox

Don't be put off: Hernandez's exquisite romance works on an emotional, as well as intellectual, level.

70

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Broken Sky is that increasing rarity, a film that is fully realized visually. Keeping dialogue at a minimum, Hernández and inspired cinematographer Alejandro Cantú create a constant interplay between light and shadow, movement and stillness, dramatic spaces of architectural grandeur and intimate enclosures to evoke the ever-shifting emotions of an all-consuming first love.

50

The New York Times Nathan Lee

Mr. Hernández doesn't always grab what he's reaching for -- his talent soars untethered by discipline -- but the thrust of his effort lights up the sky.

40

LA Weekly Tim Grierson

All in all, a striking, memorable disappointment -- not unlike so many first loves.

30

Variety Deborah Young

Though the bold treatment of homoerotic love in Mexican helmer Julian Hernandez's feature bow Broken Sky is sure to grab attention, it doesn't take long before the picture's torturously slow pace turns an earnest effort into a tedious aesthetic exercise.

25

San Francisco Chronicle G. Allen Johnson

A 2-hour, 20-minute bore-de-force of virtually dialogue-free angst.

20

Village Voice Melissa Levine

That's the movie--desperate grasps, huffy affronts, gulping kisses, and one juicy (if silent) sex scene, early in the film, before our senses have been deadened by boredom. Without dialogue, we don't know who the characters are, so we can't care about what they do.

0

New York Post V.A. Musetto

[Hernandez] is obviously a man more concerned with art than commerce, but good intentions don't always make for good filmmaking.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kris J. gave it a9:
I watched this movie in it's entirety. One might see it as an achievement since this picture lasts 140 minutes. By now you probably got what this movie is, so I will not bore yo with details. What is important for this move that director Julien Hernandez did not just make a move but rather delivered an artful picture. One might simplify the script by saying guy met guy they have fallen in love, one guy stopped loving another one so he got revenge and turned to another one. The tragedy is actually shallow, but you shouldn't look into that way. I felt the movie. I think if you have been in similar scenario you might have better understanding and you better receive this film. Love is not a simple thing especially between two young fellows. I gave it a 9. I do wholeheartly recommend.

Joel R. gave it a9:
Captivating and erotic film. Wonderful visuals of Mexico City and its sounds of music correlated with emotion, love, jealousy, loneliness, all those feelings we've all had at some point. A bit long during those silent-blacked out moments yet absorbing.

Bryan H. gave it a3:
I am a sucker for a rich, romantic film and that's what I expected this to be, but to my dismay, this director tried to do what few could get away with other than Fellini and even he had a story and variety. He had no script and little libretto, though the cinematography was well-planned and dead on. All I could say throughout this film was, "Porque no hablando?" Why aren't they speaking? But worse, no action either. The sex in the beginning was tasteful and beautiful, but you can only watch so much of two cute guys refusing to discuss their conflict or worse, having no idea what their conflict is or was, even to the end. There, I gave away it's lack of an ending. But, honestly, thank God it ended when it did.

Ted gave it a10:
A beautiful, heartbreaking love story with amazing color camerawork. Julien Hernandez really captures what it's like to ache with love. Critic Amond White called this the best film of 2006. I couldn't agree more. Fantastic. Very much worth seeing.

Ricardo R. gave it a10:
A very powerful view on romanticism. The film is so artful, so detailed. Julian Hernandez easily adds to the amazing list of new Mexican directors currently delivering masterpiece after masterpiece. From Cuaron, Del Toro, Reygadas or Inarritu. Hernandez is able to capture these characters like no one can. Probably the best film I've seen this year after The Departed.

Maurice F gave it a2:
[***SPOILERS***] Things go well until Jonás sees a different boy and fixates on him. Gerardo retaliates by hooking up with someone else. That’s the movie’s desperate grasps, huffy affronts, gulping kisses, and one juicy (if silent) sex scene, early in the film, before our senses have been deadened by boredom. Without dialogue, we don’t know who the characters are, so we can’t care about what they do. Although the bold treatment of homoerotic love in Mexican helmer Julian Hernandez’s feature bow Broken Sky is sure to grab attention, it doesn’t take long before the pictures torturously slow pace turns an earnest effort into a tedious aesthetic exercise. I’m disappointed in this film. And I didn’t like it.

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