Friday, May 27, 2016

Kings of the Road

A travelling movie projector repairman takes into his company a despondent wanderer who just underwent a divorce. While going from job to job just west of the East German border, the duo listens to American records while reflecting on women amongst the desolation that surrounds them. Wim Wenders' Kings of the Roads is intelligent, thought provoking fare, brilliantly directed, with two fine lead performances from Rudiger Vogler and Hanns Zischler, and filmed in pristine almost unfathomable black and white. The film is long, bordering on overlong, with a fantastic penultimate, American G.I. bunker set scene followed by a pompous finale.
*** 1/2 out of ****