Don't Come Knocking

Wim Wenders has done it again. The authentic German American filmmaker has recaptured the nostalgia of the American West influenced by photographer Robert Frank and feeding off plot themes by his contemporary, Jim Jarmusch. But much like all of Wenders films, his plots are not the central focus. He is interested in details, symbolism, existentialism and the process of creation. What I always liked about Wenders was his taste in music. I always hear something new that I get very interested in. Don't Come Knocking has a wonderful score.The Buena Vista Social Club is an obvious example, but there is also the music of Madredeus in Lisbon Story or the Stewart Copeland country score in "Kings of the Road'. speaking of "Kings of the Road", there is an interesting detail that is repeated in this film: At the end of Kings, there is a cinema with a broken neon sign that only has two letters lit "WW" which is the signature of Wim Wenders. This film, has a bar called the "M&M". which is the same only upside down. The story of this film by the way is co-written by Sam Shepard who collaborated with Wenders on "Paris Texas" . This time, he also stars in the film as a cowboy movie star on the search for his ex and his son who he never met. The landscapes reflect the ghostliness of an Edward Hopper painting. Few people exist in the town where he shows up. There are beautiful shots that are very memorable such as the view from the health club looking out the window where Shepard and Jessica Lange are fighting. Another great scene involves a trade in identity where a guy on a horse gets pulled over by a cop and ....well you'll see. Alhough this film symbolizes the transition to reality, it looks as though reality does not appear to be as real as one expects. This is a refreshing film by one of the great filmmakers of our time.

While filming "The Phanton of the Desert" in the middle of nowhere in Moab, Utah City, the washed-out veteran actor Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) has an existential crisis and leaves the location riding a horse. Howard was a famous cowboy in western movies in the past, but is decadent due to his reckless and explosive behavior, abusive use of booze and drugs and scandalous affairs with many women. Howard gets some money, destroys his credit cards, rents a car and takes a bus later to Elko, his hometown in Nevada. He meets his mother, who tells him that he has a son. He drives to Butte, Montana, where he finds the former waitress Doreen (Jessica Lange), her son Earl (Gabriel Mann), the mysterious Sky (Sarah Polley) with the ghosts he left behind and the life that he could have had. Meanwhile, the production calls the insurance company that sends the investigator Sutter (Tim Roth) to chase him.

"Don't Come Knocking" is an original and sad story about existential and identity crisis of a man that reaches the third age with his career and personal life in a complete mess, totally disconnected from family and friends and maybe missing a different lifestyle with a family of his own. He decides to meet his past, but always chased by his troubled present with younger women and alcohol. The direction of Wim Wenders is effective as usual, supported by engaging story, screenplay and dialogs in partnership with the lead actor Sam Shepard. The acting is top-notch, and the locations especially in the beginning and in the casino have magnificent cinematography. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Estrela Solitária" ("Lonely Star")

119 minutes – that's a relatively long runtime for a movie. But that doesn't have to mean it'll be boring. The sparse dialog in this movie isn't really what it's all about anyway. It's all about the emotions and the amazing pictures.

Sam Shepard portrays his role so wonderfully that you can sense his frustration with his life and his search for some meaning and his longing to change his ways.

Eva Marie Saint is equally adept at her portrayal of the old western actor's mom.

Jessica Lange, though, is truly outstanding. She steals the movie with one scene in particular and really deserves an award for her work in this film.

At the end of the day: this is Wim Wenders as we know him and as we like him best.

Greetings again from the darkness. Terribly underrated as a director, Wim Wenders has more than a couple of gems on his resume. Most notable are "Wings of Desire" and "Paris, Texas". Without question, "Don't Come Knocking" immediately jumps into the same class as those two extraordinary films. Collaborating with the insanely talented writer Sam Shepard for the first time since "Paris, Texas", Wenders offers up a character study that many of us have more in common with than we might first imagine.

With a rare appearance in a film he has written, Mr. Shepard plays Howard Spence, a washed up western film star who hits the road in search of the life he somehow missed. Admittedly, when the film opens with Howard galloping off into the desert away from the film set, my stomach began to churn as I had flashbacks to "Electric Horseman". Not long afterward, I became mesmerized by the pain of this man seeking redemption and meaning. Sure, there will be comparisons to "Broken Flowers" and many other meaning of life films, but writer Shepard never once pretends to be writing the great American self realization story. This is a VERY simple story about a handful of VERY interesting characters.

Jessica Lange (Shepard's real life honey) plays his long ago, nearly forgotten love who has never wandered from her small town Montana roots. What Shepard learns, after visiting with his mother (Eva Marie Saint) for the first time in 30 years, is that Lange has raised Shepard's son (Gabriel Mann). The focus drastically shifts for Shepard as he tries to make sense of it all. Just to add to his misery, Shepard is stalked by Sarah Polley (carrying her mom's remains in an urn), who suspects she is his daughter.

The genius of the film lies in the characters and setting. We never feel we are observing. Instead, we are part of the story. Winders camera angles really capture the thought cycles of Shepard in the motel room, at the bar and on the sofa in the road. Watching this would-be dad and these might-be kids come to terms with all of this is on one hand, slyly funny, but mostly intensely painful and intimate.

Spectacular performances by Shepard, Lange, and Eva Marie Saint, as well as strong support from Tim Roth, Polley, Mann and even the great George Kennedy make the story unfold in our reality. Wenders terrific camera work and small town setting with stunning panoramic views keep us comfortable, yet very aware. The pulsing guitar of the seemingly everywhere T Bone Burnett drives our pulse up or down depending on the scene.

This is marvelous film-making and pure joy for film lovers. At the post screening Q&A, Mr. Wenders expressed his enthusiasm for working with Mr. Shepard and creating a masterpiece out of a seemingly little story. We as movie goers are the lucky ones.

I really wanted to like Don't Come Knocking. It's a contemporary Western by famed German director Wim Wenders, written by Pulitzer-Prize winner (and stud actor) Sam Sheppard, and including in the cast Sam's main squeeze (and my first crush) Jessica Lange. With these credentials, I would have bet that Don't Come Knocking would have been in my Top 5 at Sundance this year.

Not even close.

Here's my #1 criterion for judging a movie: Did I care about the characters? Love 'em or hate 'em, either one is OK, they just have to mean enough to me to care about what happens to them. And unfortunately, I didn't care two hoots about Howard Spence (Sheppard), the washed-up Western actor who tries to escape his past of hard living and general selfishness. I didn't even care about Doreen (Lange), a former girlfriend from a movie shot in Butte, Montana. And I certainly didn't care about Earl (Gabriel Mann), Doreen's son, no matter how over-the-top obnoxious his behavior. Maybe I did care for Sky, the Butte native played by the remarkable Sarah Polley, who was clearly the most likable and the only truly compelling character in the movie. And Tim Roth's portrayal of the studio bond man was interesting at least.

But beyond character development, this movie just didn't have any direction, suffering from the thinnest of story lines and a pace that often needed a quick kick from Howard Spence's spurs. It does feature some interesting locations and beautiful southern Utah landscapes. But that's not why we go to movies.

Wenders and Sheppard go back to their collaboration on Paris, Texas in 1984, and they spoke very fondly of each other during the Q&A. They collaborated on the story over a period of years and have looked for a chance to work together again. I wish they would have produced something better.

Interesting Tidbit from the Q&A: Sheppard's son Jesse is an expert horseman and did his father's riding stunts for the movie. Sam Sheppard also rides well, but his contract limited his riding to a trot.

Second Interesting Tidbit: Wenders has wanted to shoot a film in Butte for twenty years, since his first visit there, and was concerned that someone else would film there before him.