Im Lauf der Zeit (1976)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writer:

Wim Wenders (writer)

Release Date:

January 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A traveling projection-equipment mechanic travels in Western Germany along the East-German border, visiting worn-out film-theatres. meets up with a depressed young man whose marriage has just broken up, and the two decide to travel together. |

Plot Keywords:

Travel | Border | Film Projector | Projectionist | Road

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Rüdiger Vogler	...	Bruno Winter
Hanns Zischler	...	Robert Lander
Lisa Kreuzer	...	Pauline, cashier
Rudolf Schündler	...	Robert's Father
Marquard Bohm	...	Man Who Lost His Wife
Hans Dieter Trayer	...	Paul, garage owner (as Dieter Traier)
Franziska Stömmer	...	Cinema owner
Patric Kreuzer	...	Little boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wim Wenders	...	Spectator at Pauline's Theater

Also Known As:

Kings of the Road (USA)
Ao Correr do Tempo (Portugal) [pt]
Au fil du temps (France) [fr]
En el curso del tiempo (Spain) [es]
Kings of the Road (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
Med tidens gång (Sweden) [sv]
Nel corso del tempo (Italy) [it]
No Decurso do Tempo (Brazil) [pt]
Sto perasma tou hronou (Greece) [el]
V behu casu (Czechoslovakia) [cs]
Z biegiem czasu (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

175 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-11 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:R(A) | Sweden:7 | UK:18 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Movie Connections:

Featured in Wanderlust (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Lisa's Accelerando

Road movie of the silent type

KINGS OF THE ROAD (Wim Wenders - West Germany 1976).

Stunning film, in which imagery and suggestion are far more important than the narrative elements. It's a long film (three hours) that you have to experience and be overwhelmed by the atmosphere, rather than watch. Combined with the beautiful black and white photography, it's probably best enjoyed on the big screen, for those with a little patience that is...

"Kings of the Road" is a road movie without a real plot, it's all about the two protagonists and their experiences during their trip. Bruno (Rüdiger Vogler) is a projection engineer visiting run-down cinemas along the border of West- and East Germany with his large truck, in which he practically lives. One morning, while he is shaving in his truck, he sees a Volkswagen speed by and drive straight into the Elbe river (which at the time formed the border between East and West Germany). The driver of the Volkswagen is Robert Lander (Hanns Zischler), whom we just met in an earlier scene. Appparently, he drove his car into the water in a suicidal rage, because of the break-up with his wife, but Volkswagens float, so he climbs out the moon roof window. Bruno watched the whole occurrence and offers the man some dry clothes and a ride. As Robert has no other plans, he rides along with Bruno while he attends his job.

Wenders addresses several themes, but these are never stressed explicitly. At first it's a film about male relationships, or perhaps even more about communication (or lack of) between men in general. Another distinct element, theme would be a too heavy term, is the deterioration of the German film industry and especially cinemas in small-town Germany since the early sixties, which very much coincides with the enormous influence of American popular culture in German culture, in film and in various other spheres of German society. One character in the film claims, 'The Yanks have colonized our subconscious.' Wenders tackles this issue lightly by adding a delightful soundtrack with American rock music, perfectly matching the mood of the film. As far as music in films is concerned, a match made in heaven.

This is a film where nothing seems to happen, where the experience of space and time was allowed to prevail over the pressure of narrative development. There is this constant self-conscious tension between story and picture, typical for all of Wim Wender's work. As most of the film consists of silent images, the reoccurring theme music becomes even more infectious. The one scene when the two men drive in their motorcycle and sidecar through the North Bavarian landscape is unforgettable, and Bruno rolls a cigarette at 80 km/h. The photography, the landscape, the music. A beautiful moment. Pure magic.

For me, Wenders' use of the German landscape and towns along the German border is a time capsule of a different age. It's all in the details. A fair-ground, the children at the cinema, the largely deserted border areas. As a kid, I spent a holiday in the Hassberge in North Bavaria, not far from the border between East and West Germany. At one occasion me and my parents drove up to the border and we were all staring across the two-mile no man's land, with the threatening DDR-signposts looming in the distance, while watching the East German watchtowers through my father's binoculars. I never had the notion there was anything unusual about the situation. On the eastern side of the border, there was a different world, which would last forever, so it seemed.

It seems to improve with each viewing. One of my favorites.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10