Fascinating study in behavior...

Never been terribly fond of Wim Wenders. His films are usually an acquired taste: long, meticulous and not very accessible. LAND OF PLENTY is an exception.

Not that it doesn’t have its own speed, mind you. Lana (Michelle Williams) volunteers at a homeless shelter in L.A. – “the hunger capital of America” – hoping to track down her long-lost uncle, Paul (John Diehl). Paul’s a Vietnam veteran, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, combing the streets for terrorist activity. Eventually, they’ll wind up on a road trip together, you just know it, but the film arrives there in an unexpected way.

Michael Meredith’s script may be all over the map: niece looks for uncle, uncle looks for terrorists, niece looks for relatives of drive-by shooting victim. And, the film ends on a bit of a false note. It’s not a perfect movie, but the performance by Michelle Williams is. Lana is a God-fearing, quietly observing girl, and Williams gives her a calming demeanor. She is just the kind of person who’d work at a shelter. I love her exchange with one of the residents: “How are you supposed to be friends with somebody when you don’t know what to call them?” to which she politely responds, “I don’t know, but I betcha there’s a way.” She’s just the kind of person who would seek out a member of the family gone missing, and for that matter, Paul is the kind of man who would do what he does: live out of a van, and run private surveillance.

This story is too non-descript to be appealing, really, but the film drew me into its world. It’s an intriguing study of human behavior. And, oddly relaxing.