L'état des choses

The thing about a film like "The State of Things", much like Wenders' earlier film "The Wrong Movement", is how too much introspection can really start to drag one down over time. Both pictures have the unfortunate distinction of talking themselves to death. This is not a film that gives you insight into life so much as insight into its specific characters. The value of this tends to decrease in the face of the fact that we never really get to know the characters in the first place. So this story seems to play like an ever-extending observation into enigmas, where each answer is really a question, like the cinematic equivalent of the "Jeopardy!" game show.

There are moments of true beauty, there's no denying that. But the beauty comes in the cinematography, the silences - not in the dialogue. The multiple cinematographers create a nice feel together, a fantastic series of images. "The State of Things" is almost always worth looking at, just not always engaging to fully experience. The ending is somewhat of a curiosity. Neither particularly disastrous nor completely convincing. It feels more like an artistic statement. And not one of great depth or meaning, either.

This is one movie I've enjoyed seeing over and over.It's one of my all time favorite. The story is pretty simple; A filmmaker runs out of money while shooting in Portugal. He goes looking for his producer in Los Angeles to find out what is going on. This one of the most beautifully shot movie in black and white I've seen and it helps to set the overall atmosphere of the film. The cast is great and the story flows right along. Apart from a few lenghty scenes (wich is why I gave it a 9), you won't be disappointed.If you're interested at all about movie making don't miss this one.

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.

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.

Time has passed since i watched this wonderful movie, and it remains in my mind like those dreams you remember for ever although had lasted ten, twenty, thirty years, like a child's dream. In effect ever i though this film was made as Wenders wanted to built an feverish dream, the American night, in a gorgeous black and white, the scene the crew is filming with that children dying and screaming like an hurt animal, and the self image that Friederich receive in an old printer from the screenwriter. Do you remember those old movies of 60's made in the Nuevo Mexico desert? Those movies made in a high percentage in a false night that you could feel the heath of a warm wind?. Longer, the best Wenders'film.