Der Stand der Dinge

Between commercial successes like Paris Texas and Angels over Berlin, Wenders still manages to make the kind of seemingly irrelevant road movies such as Santiago and State of Things, that have made him the cult hero he is. Here a cheesy scifi B-movie is interrupted at a climatic scene to follow people just hanging around talking. Which is more cinematic is a question that comes back over and over again. Actively pursuing a life, no matter how mundane or screwed up, seems to be more rewarding than passively waiting to have someone else fulfill your fantasies, or so this film seems to hint. Good film for those still in love with non virtual reality.

This film was shot by Wenders while he was waiting for Coppola to get the financing to complete Hammett and his frustrations with that experience are clearly expressed here. It is a very personal film and, as such, I think one of his best. The end sequence in LA is classic. Shot in beautiful black and white, this is really a must see for any fan of the 'art film' in general and of Wenders' work in particular.

If you get a chance to see this 1982 film "The State of Things," take it. I had never heard of it and would not have come across it if I hadn't attended a multi-week festival of the films of director Wim Wenders at the IFC theater in New York, at which the director appeared several times for interviews and Q & A sessions.

"The State of Things" should be seen by anyone who loves, or even likes movies. I purposely say "movies" rather than "film" because you don't have to be a certified cinéaste to appreciate it. Plain old, popcorn-munching movie lovers will enjoy it as well. (Mr. Wenders, BTW, seems to be both. No contradiction there.)

Details of the plot can be found in other reviews, but in summary, an international cast and crew shooting a movie off of the coast of Portugal is left high and dry by the producer when they learn that there is not enough money available to continue the project. The director hasn't been able to reach the producer by phone so he flies to L.A. to talk to him and try to find out what's going on. This is where the plot thickens and you will have to see the movie to learn how it unfolds.

Besides extolling the merits of the movie itself, the ensemble cast and the director, my main motivation for writing this review is to praise the outstanding performance of Allen Goorwitz (a/k/a Allen Garfield) as the errant producer. Mr. Goorwitz is listed first in the acting credits (on IMDb) but he doesn't appear until about 45 minutes before the film ends and he is in every scene until the credits roll. It is well worth the wait. His portrayal of the character is a priceless tour-de-force.

This extraordinary character actor began his career learning his craft at The Actors Studio in New York where he studied with Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan. With those credits it is not surprising that he turned out to be one of those actors who "doesn't look like he's acting," a description usually associated with big name Method Actors such as Marlon Brando and James Dean.

If you are a movie lover who has ever yearned for a film that has "something different" while still being very accessible and not too artsy, put "The State of Things" at or near the top of your list. You will have to search for it but your efforts will be amply rewarded.

From the first time I saw it, this film resonated strongly on two levels; first, it is an excellent example of Wenders at his best: an almost dreamy progression of exactingly composed images, mysterious characters, a "story" which comes as close as film can to "truth", and for the cineastes in the audience, a complex dialogue with films of the past. But my second reason for loving this film is far more personal. As a teenager growing up in Hollywood during the early 1980s, I knew nothing about Wim Wenders or film history, but friends guided me to this film because of the soundtrack and the images at the end, inside an RV wandering aimlessly in Hollywood. This is, as far as I know, the first film to use either X or Joe Ely in the soundtrack. It also captures a lost city with amazing precision; almost every shot at the end contains some nostalgic element, from Tiny Naylor's drive-in to the Parisian Room, from Schwab's Pharmacy to the white smog in Laurel Canyon. This is a great film, but for Los Angelenos of my generation, it's a treasure-trove.

I saw this film when I was in mid-20s in 1982. I viewed this film with Stanley Brock in Santa Monica, California. Stanley Brock was in the Actors Studio with one of the actors from "State of Things" - Allen Garfield. I have not seen the film again, but if I see it in the video store, I will rent it.

The eerie black and white photography of the Portugal coastline creates the loneliness of the actors. I love that image of the coastline even 20 years later.

I do remember Allen Garfield and Paul Getty in this film.

Please see this film if you have the chance.