Beyond the Clouds (2017)

2017 | Drama

120 mins India

Set in the slums of Mumbai, acclaimed director Majid Majidi delivers a powerful coming-of-age tale about a brother trying to save his jailed sister. Risk-taking Iranian director Majid Majidi, best known for his Oscar®-nominated Children of Heaven, moves to Mumbai for this stunning feature. Appearing in his first film, Ishaan Khattar gives an extraordinary, high-energy performance as Aamir, a teenage roustabout. He makes the most of his life of fast bikes and dodging trouble while dealing drugs across Mumbai’s dockland underbelly. And yet, behind the hedonism is a young man desperately missing his family. Following a drugs bust, Aamir ends up on the doorstep of his estranged sister Tara. She lives alone and is constantly harassed by men. The siblings try to live together in the apartment, but a past clouded by loss and despair makes it difficult. However, when Tara almost kills a man who attempts to rape her and ends up in jail, she suddenly finds in Aamir her one hope of seeing the outside world again. Alongside his gifted cast, Majidi is working once again with cinematographer Anil Mehta, who captures India’s urban landscape with a breathtaking sense of awe. And the immensely talented, Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) provides a richly nuanced score.