original movie poster for la vallée also knows as “obscured by clouds”

the expression “obscured by clouds” refers to those areas that have never been cartographically surveyed since they are always blanketed in cloud

pink floyd created the music fo rth film and named their album “obscured by clouds” after a clip in the film with a map stating the words

viviane (ogier), the wife of the french consul in melbourne, joins a group of explorers in search of a mysterious hidden valley in the bush of new guinea, where she hopes to find the feathers of an extremely rare exotic bird. along the way through the dense jungles of papua new guinea and on the peak of mount giluwe…

she and the small group of explorers make contact with a native tribe called the “mapuga”, portrayed as one of the most isolated groups of human beings on earth, who inspire them to explore their own humanity, unfettered by their own subjective ideas of “civilization”. the search becomes a search for a paradise said to exist within a valley marked as “obscured by cloud” on the only map of the area available dated as surveyed in 1969.

came across this film aftrer watching a documentary called “chit chat with oysters” as floyd had done the music for this film. doesn’t look great, and rather sentimental and french, and i mean that not in a good way as we love the great french films. maybe worth a watch just for the imagery, good luck finding it, but in the mean time heres a review by anet maslin in the new york timesin may of 1981

“the beginning of barbet schroeder’s ”the valley obscured by llouds” finds viviane (bulle ogier) wearing a trim little dress and high heels, traipsing elegantly through the jungle as only a chic frenchwoman can. the bored wife of a diplomat stationed in melbourne, she is in new guinea to buy feathers, which she sells to a paris boutique.

in the trading post where she is first seen, she encounters the blond, bare-chested olivier (michael gothard), who claims to know where some fine feathers can be found. he seems to be making a few other claims too, but it is only the feathers that he mentions. anyhow, viviane soon embarks, with olivier and several very solemn, self-important hippies who are his friends, on a journey into the wilderness. they are in search, respectively, of feathers and truth …

viviane’s feathery-headedness may be something mr. schroeder intended. after she witnesses the spectacular mapuga festivities that mark the film’s climax, she cries ”olivier, isn’t it wonderful? we’ve become so close to them we’re practically one of them – we’ve found truth, you know!”

olivier quickly shoots a hole in this theory, but only a few minutes later the film is over, with viviane supposedly on the brink of enlightenment. has she really found wisdom through the mapugas? or is she merely fascinated by their makeup and jewelry ideas? schroeder is … neither an observer of nor a participant in his material, and the middle ground he inhabits remains ill defined. his film is by no means uninteresting, but it lacks the clear vision that might have turned it into a genuine act of exploration.” by ar