Until the End of the World DVD (15)

Dir: WIM WENDERS, 1991, Germany/France/Austria, 151mins
Cast: Solveig Dommartin, WILLIAM HURT, SAM NEILL, JEANNE MOREAU, MAX VON SYDOW, Rüdiger Vogler

Conceived as the ultimate road movie, and co-written by Wenders, lead actress Dommartin and Australian novelist Peter Carey, this is an ambitious melange of apocalyptic science fiction, relationship drama, conspiracy thriller and spiritual odyssey. Its style and tone reflect a proud tradition of Euro sci-fi/art movies like GODARD’s Alphaville (1965) and Alain Resnais’ Je T’Aime, Je T’Aime (1967), but Wenders’ meandering epic isn’t in their league.

Set in the ‘futuristic’ year of 1999, the story revolves around mysterious criminal Sam Farber (Hurt), on a quest to record images, stored inside a hi-tech device that will enable his blind mother (Moreau) to see. Sam encounters the enigmatic Claire (Dommartin), a wanderer who falls in love with him and weaves in several other characters: her novelist ex-boyfriend Gene (Neil), some French bank robbers, and an eccentric private eye (Vogler), as they travel from Venice to France, Berlin, Lisbon, Tokyo, San Francisco and finally, the Australian outback. Here, in the wake of an out-of-control satellite that threatens global catastrophe, Sam’s father (Von Sydow) experiments with his device, which renders Claire and Sam entranced by their own dreams.

Obviously a personal project – dedicated by Wenders to his family – the film is by turns inspiring and infuriating. Aside from its obvious sell by date setting in 1999, its vision of the future seems influenced by Cirque du Soleil. Wenders’ imaginative premise strives to explore links between the human subconscious, Aboriginal dreamtime and the possibilities of written fiction. However it’s marred by po-faced posturing, bizarre comedy (Claire drugs a private detective, only to realise he’s done the same to her. Later, a chase sequence sees her stumble upon a Japanese businessman masturbating), and pointless digressions like Sam and Claire being beaten up by a used car salesman. Wenders relies too heavily upon Neil’s narration to glue the straggling plot, but the Australian segments work best thanks to moving performances from Von Sydow and especially Moreau, whose restored sight prompts her to give up on the world.

Wenders undercuts this pessimism, presenting Gene as the story’s true hero. His belief in “the healing power of stories” enables him to rescue Claire, but the intriguing idea that humanity needs a narrative to make sense of its subconscious remains only hinted at. Wenders conjures an appealing vision of communication technology forging global friendships, and the film’s many, strange characters grow endearing. Claire is meant to be whimsical and complex, but comes across as merely obtuse. Dommartin was far better in Wenders’ masterpiece Wings of Desire (1987). An unexpectedly touching scene features a monologue delivered by former Bond girl Lois Chiles (Moonraker’s Dr. Holly Goodhead!) Stretches of unsubtitled French leave the story hard to follow, but the soundtrack by Graeme Revell – featuring contributions from Brian Eno, U2, Talking Heads – remains outstanding.

Extras:
Essay on Wim Wenders; trailer.

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Andrew Pragasam