Cielo

  • Rated Not Rated
  • 1hr 18m

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Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Alison McAlpine

Producer:

Paola Castillo, Sean Farnel, Carmen Garcia

Writer:

Alison McAlpine

Release Date:

Aug 15, 2018

Runtime:

1hr 18m

Synopsis

Cielo is a cinematic reverie on the crazy beauty of the night sky, as experienced in the Atacama Desert, Chile, one of the best places on our planet to explore and contemplate its splendour. Director Alison McAlpine’s sublime nonfiction film drifts between science and spirituality, the arid land, desert shores and lush galaxies, expanding the limits of our earthling imaginations. Planet Hunters in the Atacama's astronomical observatories and the desert dwellers who work the land and sea share their evocative visions of the stars and planets, their mythic stories and existential queries with remarkable openness and a contagious sense of wonder. A love poem for the night sky, Cielo transports us to a space, quiet and calm, within which we can ponder the infinite and unknown.

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.4
420
165
76
RATINGS 0 FANS
3.4
  • Jul 25, 2025

    This is my Joker

    7 Likes
    ThisIsMyJoker
    ThisIsMyJoker
    Aug 22, 2018

    Cielo (2017) 7/10 Objectively beautiful and profound in its search of the night sky as well as how it allows both scientists and not scientists to speak about what they see in the stars (and surely the non scientists have the most interesting things to say, specially the…

    7 Likes
    Jaime Grijalba
    Jaime Grijalba
    Jul 3, 2018

    A beautiful documentary about our fascination with the stars, shot in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Mostly spends time with the local Chilean people discussing thoughts on the night sky. But still asks intelligent questions. And has lots of cute doggies.

    6 Likes
    Alex Billington
    Alex Billington
  •
    Feb 3, 2023

    pucha, me puse hater mira no es malo, pero no me podía sacar de la mente a una gringa flashando con los native people y oh my god vengo de la civilización hay tantas luces en mi ciudad, ustedes los nativos chilensis tienen tanta sabiduría, los grabaré con mi cámara súper…

    4 Likes
    Tania Z
    Tania Z
    Aug 30, 2018

    The stars are projectors. Or something like that. Review at Seattle Screen Scene.

    4 Likes
    Sean Gilman
    Sean Gilman
    Aug 10, 2018

    Beautiful cinematography, but I fell asleep watching.

    4 Likes
    Sean Kelly
    Sean Kelly
  •
    Aug 31, 2018

    While the visuals are overwhelmingly beautiful, the director's penchant for unnecessary VO narration is in parts grating and detracts from the poetry of the film. This doc would be much better if they stuck to the interviews and quotes from the people they spoke to.

    3 Likes
    HellaBrad
    HellaBrad
    Jul 18, 2020

    Of a kind with Patricio Guzman's recent documentaries -- I wonder, especially, how intensely this resembles Nostalgia for the Light -- and not merely for the Chile Connection. Long, searching shots of its given subject (aquí, el cielo, naturalmente), on top of either…

    2 Likes
    Ray
    Ray
    May 3, 2026

    - Sky timelapse cinematography I love you. The filmmakers have great eyes for shots and a lot of technical skill to achieve them.  -The scientists at the beginning were my other favorite part.  -The narration and questions from the filmmaker I did not love much. Maybe it…

    2 Likes
    SuperRoberty
    SuperRoberty
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Metacritic

71
metacritic
Based on 8 Critics
tbd

USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet
60
Aug 23, 2018

A curious film in multiple ways, Cielo does not always achieve its lofty ambitions of transcendence. However, accompanied by the eerie silence of the desert and the plaintive wail of Philippe Lauzier’s mournful score, McAlpine’s visuals transport the viewer to a state of reflection while reminding us of the sublime beauty of the space above.

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Metacritic review by Kevin Crust
Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times
63
Aug 13, 2018

Alison McAlpine's documentary lacks urgency beyond its persistent pondering of the sky's eternal mysteries.

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Metacritic review by Clayton Dillard
Clayton Dillard
Slant Magazine
75
Aug 9, 2018

A serene, existential experience from the Canadian filmmaker Alison McAlpine, who takes to Chile’s Atacama Desert to look both skyward and inward.

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Metacritic review by Brad Wheeler
Brad Wheeler
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is Cielo (2018)?
The movie is 1hr 18min long.
What's Cielo (2018) about?
Cielo is a cinematic reverie on the crazy beauty of the night sky, as experienced in the Atacama Desert, Chile, one of the best places on our planet to explore and contemplate its splendour. Director Alison McAlpine’s sublime nonfiction film drifts between science and spirituality, the arid land, desert shores and lush galaxies, expanding the limits of our earthling imaginations. Planet Hunters in the Atacama's astronomical observatories and the desert dwellers who work the land and sea share their evocative visions of the stars and planets, their mythic stories and existential queries with remarkable openness and a contagious sense of wonder. A love poem for the night sky, Cielo transports us to a space, quiet and calm, within which we can ponder the infinite and unknown.
Who's the director behind Cielo (2018)?
Alison McAlpine directed Cielo (2018).
Who produced Cielo (2018)?
Paola Castillo, Sean Farnel and Carmen Garcia produced Cielo (2018).