MovieChat Forums > In weiter Ferne, so nah! (1993) Discussion > Wim movies always start out great + go d...

Wim movies always start out great + go downhill

posted 19 years ago by rooprect
11 replies | jump to latest

{slight spoiler...?}

I'm not going to say that this film sucked. It had a lot of great moments, and of course visually it was impressive. But someone's gotta say it: the last half hour was as ridiculous as any episode of Knight Rider. I think it all begins with "Your friends have been taken hostage on a cargoboat! Hop on my moped and bring your bungee cords... We'll save them. And the little girl, too!"

Am I just being to cynical? I don't think so, because I really enjoyed the 1st half. And the homeless Cassiel scenes were powerful. But I get lost when the plot turns loopy.

{ok big SPOILER...}

Like what's up with Emit appearing out of nowhere and shooting Winter with a crossbow? I thought the point of Emit's character was that Time doesn't interfere; it only does what you make of it. ok, so why does he suddenly decide to start picking off minor characters?

{MEGA SPOILER...!}

And lastly, did I miss a few scenes at the end? How did we go from Cassiel being shot... to sailing off into the sunset? Did they cut the scene where Michael Knight and Kitt rocket onto the Danube and rescue the lot of them? lol

[–] asy4 19 years ago

I attended a special screening of the movie at NYU film school before it opened commerically, and Wim Wenders was there answering questions afterward. On film student -- echoing the feeling of pretty much everyone in the room!-- tentatively asked, "So, Mr. Wenders, did you have a finished screenplay and storyboard before you started filming this or did you make it up as you went along?" To which Mr. Wenders had to confess that, in fact, he had a basic idea, but essentially made it up as he went along, drawing on German cop/thriller TV shows for inspiration. And, yes, Mr. Wenders, it LOOKS like you made it up as you went along!

[–] rooprect 19 years ago

Mr. Wenders had to confess that, in fact, he had a basic idea, but essentially made it up as he went along, drawing on German cop/thriller TV shows for inspiration. And, yes, Mr. Wenders, it LOOKS like you made it up as you went along!

O_O

No kidding? Wow, so maybe there's some Knight Rider in this movie after all. =D Thanks for confirming my suspicious. Wim admits something similar in the director's commentary for Wings of Desire (a film that had no script, and was loosely based on 10 poems by Peter Handke). But on the flip side, I very much enjoyed Until the End of the World, because it's much more structured and--meandering as it may seem--stays true to a coherent plot.

[–] schuey100 18 years ago

[–] stereophonic-1 18 years ago

Before it opened commerically IN AMERIKA yes ;-).

[–] tate_gm 18 years ago

It did go downhill, as you say. At first it was full of imagery, very poetic, but it seems like Wenders had some trouble ending it. It started to loose its original meaning from the scene in which they all get together and ruin Becker's business. It looked pretty much like any action movie.
The idea, however, is marvellous; and so is the first hour and a half.

[–] rooprect 18 years ago

The idea, however, is marvellous; and so is the first hour and a half.

I agree totally, and that's why I'm so frustrated with the way it turned out. I have the same gripe with Wings of Desire, though less pronounced. I feel that Solveig's speech at the end was a bit too meandering, and it failed to draw together all the great, poetic themes of the film. I was left unfulfilled.

And recently I saw Paris, Texas, which left me feeling the same.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not expecting a slam-bang Hollywood ending. But I like to see movies where the last half really clarifies & punctuates things. Examples: Aguirre (Herzog), Kikujiro (Takeshi Kitano), Citizen Kane (Orson Welles), Underground (Kusturica). These are films that leave you saying "Aha, so that's what this is all about! Powerful."

P.S. As always, if anyone can suggest some good movies along the lines of what I'm talking about, I'd love to hear it.

[–] siamesedreamia 18 years ago

i was quite disappointed with this film. yeah the last half an hour or so was really silly. i feel that the film already started goes downhill after the first half an hour. i found the scene of Lou Reed telling Cassiel, "u can do it" incredibly cheesy. and i found the film's morality tale too self-conscious.

i think Wender's method of making up the film as he goes along works brilliantly sometimes, like in Wings of Desire. but in my opinion it just didn't seem to work for Faraway So Close.

i absolutely loved Wing of Desire, which is one reason why i was so disappointed that Faraway So Close was unable to match up to Wings of Desire's greatness. regarding the ending of Wing of Desire, for the first couple of times i watched it i was rather disappointed with it too, but now i find myself appreciating its abstract and elliptical nature a lot more.

i liked Paris, Texas, from beginning all the way till the end.

and in Alice in the Cities, i find it's something of the opposite pattern: for me the film starts off less engagingly, but keeps getting better and better as it goes along, all the way till the end. like Wings of Desire, it's less about the ending and more about the journey itself.

regarding suggestions of good movies, i'm gonna recommend Wong Kar-Wai's "Happy Together" and "In the Mood for Love" if u haven't seen them, mainly because at the moment i'm in love with those films. Wong Kar-Wai is something of an acquired taste, so i dunno if u'll like them...

[–] explainmyself 18 years ago

Definitely agree.

In contrast, I only got that feeling slightly with Wings of Desire (which I enjoyed). And Paris, Texas, one of my favorites of all time, is a Wenders movie that I felt started out great and finished up just as beautifully.

This one doesn't really rank too high in my book, but I'm glad I've seen it at least once, if only for Kinski and Dafoe. Dafoe as Time/Death/Inevitability/etc and Nastassja Kinski as an angel (such perfect casting) were the highlights of this for me.

[–] rooprect 18 years ago

The more I think about it, I may have been too harsh on Paris, Texas. I saw it with the prejudice that Wim movies end poorly, so I was probably too quick to judge. Definitely the "conversations through the mirror" scenes were very well done & symbolic.

Also if you want to see a great Wim movie, check out Until the End of the World where the movie actually PICKS UP in the last half and becomes 10x more interesting by the time the credits roll at the end.

I'd love to peek inside Wim's brain and see why some movies work while others don't. "Artist's temperament" I guess. :p

[–] skay_baltimore 12 years ago

I had the same feeling. The movie was so powerful, with great poetry, art, and spirit. Then it turned into a real weak, sloppy mess, losing a lot of its power in the process.

The whole world is a very narrow bridge. The key is to be fearless. R' Nachman of Breslov

[–] Prismark10 11 years ago

It was overlong and lost its focus. If it was 30 mins shorter it would had been a much better film.

Its that man again!!