Wim Wenders gives people time to speak, even when they would rather say nothing. His finest films reward the wait, though he can linger too long and grow too fond of the lonely men he watches.
Fi1m perspective
Harry Dean Stanton seems to need time to get a sentence out in Paris, Texas (1984), and Wenders gives it to him. His Travis is a drifter trying to reunite his family, played without any assumption that being hurt makes him good company. We were moved by the effort Stanton puts into speaking so little; his hesitations make conversation feel difficult before anything painful has been said. Wenders gives us time to notice the work that goes into each exchange.
In the 1970s, Alice in the Cities (1974) and Kings of the Road (1976) helped establish his habit of sending uncertain people out on the road. Cinematographer Robby Müller helped give the early films their patient, atmospheric images, making the places worth lingering over. By Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire (1987), his strongest fiction films, the men are often standing back from their own lives, watching. Wenders makes that distance interesting, but he needs actors who can suggest what it costs.
The later career mixes fiction with documentaries, including Buena Vista Social Club (1999) and Pina (2011). Watching artists and musicians work suits a director so interested in what people reveal without explaining themselves. The fiction has been less dependable, with The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) among the films where the storytelling grows diffuse. Perfect Days (2023) is a welcome return to the careful observation that makes his best work worth the wait.
Koji Yakusho plays Hirayama, a Tokyo public-lavatory cleaner whose repeated days give Wenders and co-writer Takuma Takasaki their story. Editor Toni Froschhammer progressively shortens the familiar routines, allowing a small disruption to disturb us because we already know what should happen next. There is no composer: the songs Hirayama plays in his van provide the music, and Wenders gives them time to be heard. Yakusho's near-wordless performance keeps the repetition absorbing, although Wenders is a little too content to admire the man's calm.
That fondness needs watching, as does the tendency in Paris, Texas to keep establishing feelings we have already understood. Dean Stockwell and Aurore Clément help there by making the people around Travis matter too; Wenders is better when his lonely men are not allowed all our sympathy. Start with Paris, Texas, and give Stanton an evening without interruptions.
Biography
Wim Wenders is a German film director, screenwriter and producer. Born Ernst Wilhelm Wenders on 14 August 1945 in Düsseldorf, he studied at the University of Television and Film Munich and made his feature debut with Summer in the City (1970). He rose to prominence as a leading figure in New German Cinema with films including the Road Movie trilogy: Alice in the Cities (1974), The Wrong Move (1975) and Kings of the Road (1976).
Wenders achieved international recognition with The American Friend (1977), Paris, Texas (1984), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and a BAFTA for Best Direction, and Wings of Desire (1987), for which he received the Cannes Best Director Award. He has also directed documentaries such as Buena Vista Social Club (1999), Pina (2011) and The Salt of the Earth (2014), each nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2023 Wenders directed, co-wrote with Takuma Takasaki and produced the Japanese-language drama Perfect Days, which premiered at Cannes and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
