The CultureCritic guide to Wim Wenders...

With a very well-received new 3D film out and an exhibition of his photography currently on display at London’s Haunch of Venison, German filmmaker Wim Wenders is the man of the moment. We’re big fans, so we’ve put together a basic introductory guide to some of his best from the last four decades...

‘The Road' Trilogy (1974 - 1976)

If you can't make it to London for the Haunch of Venison's exhibition of Wenders' excellent photography, worry not. His early Rüdiger Vogler-starring ‘Road Trilogy' comprise some of his most brilliant shots and images.

The first is 1974's Alice in the Cities (Alice in den Städten) a buddy movie between a German photographer tasked with capturing ‘America' on film, and a young girl he gets dumped with upon his return home. Akin to a (much) more innocent Lolita, the pair travel through Germany with Wenders expertly documenting the early signs of globalization, as well as the unspoilt beauty of the Rheine landscape. This still seems like Wenders' best moment, something we're not alone in thinking...

Wrong Move (Falsche Bewegung, 1975) followed, in which Wenders teamed up with Austrian writer and friend Peter Handke. It's based on Goethe's ‘Bildungsroman', Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, and is subsequently heavy on dialogue and occasionally dreary. A young writer sets off on a journey of self-discovery, picking up an assortment of friends along the way, one of being a very young Nastassja Kinski, who would later star in Paris, Texas. Wenders apparently discovered Nastassja in a disco, not knowing that her father was the famous actor Klaus Kinski, and it was noted that most of the crew fell in love with her while filming...

Wenders' saved the epic till last. Kings of the Road (Im Lauf der Zeit, 1976) clocks in at almost three hours, but is well worth it. Two unlikely friends traverse West Germany visiting old movie theatres. Like Alice, it is punctuated by long absences of dialogue, as Wenders' camera captures the road in beautiful black and white. The pair encounter an empty American army bunker (a reminder of Germany's continued occupation) and other more subtle signs of Americanization, something of a preoccupation of Wenders'. In a prose poem, he wrote of the USA:

The American Friend (1977)

Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley, star of ‘the Ripliad', is one of the 20th century's most captivating villains. Highsmith declared herself a fan of this 1977 adaptation of Ripley's Game, which starred the late, great Dennis Hopper in a particularly intense incarnation of Ripley (far more psychotic than Matt Damon's 1999 portrayal). This is stylish noir, though not entirely faithful to Highsmith's text: take, for instance, Ripley's repeated insistence that he's bringing ‘the Beatles back to Hamburg'. Bruno Ganz, star of Downfall and now forever immortalized on Youtube as Adolf Hitler reacting badly to Michael Jackson's death, Oasis splitting up and being banned from his games console, also stars.

Paris, Texas (1984)

Wenders' best-loved film, Paris, Texas was the unanimous winner of the 1984 Palme d'Or at Cannes. Harry Dean Stanton as the long-lost Travis wanders out of the desert, and is reunited with his young son Hunter who has been living with relatives in LA. The pair set out for Texas to find Travis' wife and Hunter's mother, Jane, played by Nastassja Kinski. It looks like an emotionally fleshed out, full-colour successor to Alice in the Cities, and is touching, gently humorous and visually stunning. Ry Cooder's sparse guitar accompanies Wenders' shots of the barren desert, lit by the neon signs that adorn its lonely highways.

Wings of Desire (1987)

Invisible to all but children, trench-coated angels wander the streets of West Berlin listening in on immortal thoughts and offering comfort in Wender's poignant cinematic poem. Having fallen in love with a real woman, Solveig Dommartin, one of the angels (Bruno Ganz again) tires of his role as observer and longs to become human. Features Peter ‘Columbo' Falk as himself, Nick Cave in electric form, cinematic shifts from monochrome to colour and cinematography by the veteran Henri Alekan. Dedicated to Ozu, Truffaut and Tarkovsky, and inspired by the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) is one of the most bewitching portrayals of what it is to look versus the intensity of human experience.

Buena Vista Social Club (1999)

The only one of Wenders' many documentaries on our list, Buena Vista Social Club is an inspiring tribute to music. Wenders follows his long-time friend, Ry Cooder, as he brings together some of Cuba's most celebrated musicians, namely Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer and Rubén González as they record a Grammy winning album. Both the album and the documentary countered the musicians' fall into international obscurity, caused by Castro's takeover and resulting unease between Cuba and America. Interviews and footage of stunning musical performances and collaborations culminate in a concert in the United States. Nominated in 2000 for an Academy Award and winner of the European Film Awards for best documentary.