Faux mouvement

This early Wim Wenders film is about a frustrated writer who is encouraged by his mother to take a train trip to Bonn. On the way he meets an odd assortment of characters including a former concentration camp guard who is now a street musician, a mute teenage acrobat, a semi-famous actress, a hilarious overweight would-be poet, and the latter's "uncle", a depressed suicidal recluse. The film is rather talky and philosophical, frequently meditating on the nature of artistic creation itself. It has kind of morose atmosphere to it like Wender's later film "Paris, Texas", but without the redemptive ending. For lack of a better word I would call it existentialist. Like "Paris, Texas" it's kind of an existentialist road movie except that the characters travel by train.

The only recognizable actor in this is a young Nastassia Kinski. This isn't nearly as sexy as one of her late 70's/early 80's roles (but like "To the Devil a Daughter" a year later, it's probably sexier than it ought to be). Still, whereas most male directors at the time were mostly interested in undressing Kinski (both on and off screen), Wenders can be credited at least with making her a more respected actress, mostly with her later role in "Paris, Texas", but also to a lesser extent with her debut role in this.

I can see why people find this kind of slow-going and perhaps a little depressing. But I found it quite interesting and actually enjoyed it.

A slow, thoughtful foreign movie with some beautiful cinematography. The audience follows our lead character on a journey, seemingly to nowhere, expect an exploration of a greater philosophical understanding of the human life. The film also marks the debut of Nastassja Kinski I believe. The film is full of lots of dialogue and conversations pondering the existential crisis of man and the post war guilt of Germany. The locations chosen for the movie do work quite well and a couple of bits are genuinely sad.

Another thing I liked about this was the costumes. In a sense this is a sort of road trip movie but not the usual kind of comedic one.

Wenders' road movies of the 70s have a charm that makes them accessible to many viewers, yet are often linked by the less accessible themes of alienation and detachment. It is an interesting dichotomy and one that comes to focus with this film.

Political and cultural pre-determinism are not as easily digested outside the German point of view in the 70s, yet it is a common theme amongst Wenders films as well as (arguably) Herzog & Fassbinder (New German cinema contemporaries) . One does not have to be a philosophy or poli-sci major to enjoy this film however. The fact that Wrong Move is freely based on Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship" is easily overlooked by the casual viewer - but if viewed as an allegorical narrative, like Goethe's work, parts of the film come together and make this obtuse, personal work by Wenders more interesting.

The characters Wilhelm (Rudiger Volger) meets during his trip represent ideological sensibilities of 70s Germany. Mignon played by the teen Nastassja Kinski represents the youth and future of Germany (mute, trusting yet undemanding). Laertes represents the idealism of old Germany, and considers himself a martyr for the Nazi cause. Wilhelm and Therese (Hanna Schygulla) are between these 2 and take action to liberate one from the other. All is told in an un-naturalistic style that only works in some cases. The long (almost single take) walk up the hillside by the river are a good example of where the film shines. The photography by Robby Müller is consistently excellent here.

It's a difficult film but rewarding to those who take time to understand it from it's original historical and ideological context. Worth seeing for the cinematography of Müller and the presence of Hanna Schygulla and Nastassja Kinski.

Wrong Move wasn't engaing enough for me to actually care about 4 people traveling, talking and wanting to kill each other. The cinematography is the only great thing that stands out, everything else doesn't really hold up well.

Wim Wenders and writer Peter Handke team up a decade before "Berurin Tenshi no Uta" Wings of desire (1987)(Ailes du desir) and 4 decades before The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez (2016) based on Peter's play in French to premiere at Cannes this month.

It is shorter and simpler than Wings of Desire and it feels as though the whole movie is almost one take, one moment, one long reflection on the same theme of loss and loneliness, perhaps longing and love. It is poetic and philosophical, but also human. It succeeds in asking tough questions and not given easy answers. It understands human complexity and perhaps perplexity facing an uncontrollable, sometimes unsatisfying life.

Momentary solace and camaraderie soon dissolves as things fall apart naturally, casually and necessarily. Much more down to Earth than somehow esoteric Wings of Desire and has a direct impact on the viewer even if often dark and detached beyond the light-hearted and hypnotic beginning.

A interesting find, and perhaps one of the best movies of 1975, winning 6 German Film Awards including a deserving best direction, best screenplay and best cinematography by Robby Müller who shines on various occasion and gives a cohesive visual feel. I will look up Alice in the Cities (1974) and Kings of the Road (1976) to see see if Wender achieved similar success. Let's hope Peter Handke again gives substance to Wim Wenders now that Wenders is tackling 3 fiction films in a row after dedicating a decade and a half to creating captivating documentaries starting with Oscar-nominated Buena Vista Social Club (1999) and even better recent offerings Pina (2011) and The Salt of the Earth (2014).