The State of Things

Good cinematography and some cool references, but not one of Wenders's stronger movies

Samuel Fuller is the fucking man. It's a great movie by its own rights, but when Fuller is on screen he owns it.

Well, when you are talented in something even when you try to do something intentionally bad, it turns out interesting. That's what I thought about the beginning of this movie. It has amazing cinematography and a brilliant original score. It was a bit incoherent, but it came together well in the end. As a scientist, I wish I could do experiments about doing experiments, but alas...

O estado das coisas estreava há 40 anos no Festival de Veneza. Os filmes do Wenders sempre me fazem lembrar da Carmen Sandiego, sempre tem alguém em busca de alguém em algum momento ou no filme todo. Rá! Um dos grandes filmes sobre o cinema. BlurayRip RARBG.

Or more specifically, the state of the art. Wenders's exercise in self-analysis is, firstly, a rumination on the importance of story. On the one hand: "Stories only exist in stories, whereas life goes by without the need to turn into stories." But: "Life without stories -- it isn't worth living." And: "Without a story you're dead. You can't make a movie without a story. You ever try to build a house without walls?"

I think i like Wim Wenders more when he does Wenders, rather than when he tries to do Godard. I mean, this is fine, but it's not his best. Interestingly for a guy who's mostly known for road movies, this is mainly about boredom and stasis. Then in the last twenty minutes it becomes almost like a different movie. Given that Wenders "borrowed" the cast and crew from Raoul Ruiz's The Territory, it's hard not to think of that film during the opening film-within-a-film.

Storywise, kinda feels like Fassbinder had already made this movie (Beware of a Holy Whore), and the usage of Sam Fuller like Fritz Lang in Contempt is just one example of how much this copies from Godard. Pseudu-pensive mumbling comprises most of the dialogue, preventing the film from being as lifelike as it purports to be. Most of the dialogue wasn't convincing or substantial enough to keep my attention, but the motorhome scene with the producer near the end was good.

The best parts are when Sam Fuller is on screen.

The last scene is way way over the top!

Comically bitter look at filmmaking that was the result of Wenders's experiences making _Hammett_. The languid humor of the first half gives way to sharp comic suspense in the second half.