Der Stand der Dinge (The State of Things) 1982

Film description

Wim Wenders' black-and-white drama "The State of Things" (Der Stand der Dinge) is a metaphysical and self-reflexive exploration of cinema, art, and the confrontation between European auteur cinema and the commercial Hollywood system. The film won the Golden Lion in Venice in 1982. The plot begins in a run-down, barren hotel on the Portuguese coast, where a small, international film crew is shooting a remake of a science fiction classic entitled The Survivors. However, in the middle of filming, they run out of film stock, and the American producer Gordon (Allen Garfield) has vanished without a trace along with the negatives. The team, including the director Friedrich Munro (Patrick Bauchau) and the hard-drinking cameraman (played by director Samuel Fuller), is condemned to wait in the unwelcoming, isolated surroundings. The initial euphoria quickly gives way to existential standstill, boredom, and philosophical discussions about the nature of storytelling and the relationship between film and reality. When the uncertainty becomes unbearable, Munro travels to Los Angeles to search for the missing Gordon and fight for the continuation of his film. In Los Angeles, he finds Gordon, who is hiding in a mobile home from the Mafia to whom he owes money. Gordon cynically argues that films without a story ("A film without a story, that won't hold up.") have no chance in Hollywood, while Munro defends the lyrical power of the image. The film culminates in a tragic confrontation between the two men, symbolizing the irreconcilable divide between art and commerce. Munro is shot from ambush while attempting to capture the scene with his Super 8 camera—a final, futile effort to grasp reality through the lens.