I’d long wanted to see Wim Wenders’ Kings of the Road (1976; Im Lauf der Zeit, “in the course of time” is the translated title). All I knew about it was that it was three hours long, filmed in black and white, and shot in Germany (West Germany at the time), and involved cinemas. It begins with the aloof, quizzical Rudolph Winter (Rudiger Volger) who travels the countryside, repairing the projection equipment in the movie theatres of small towns, driving around in a big truck with a bunk bed in the back and a record player in the front. When a VW crashes into a lake nearby one morning when Rudolph is waking up, he meets Robert Lander (Hanns Zischler), who climbs out of the car in wet clothes, depressed and moody after his marriage has fallen apart. Then without much discussion, Robert hitches a ride with Rudolph’s travels repairing cinema projection equipment. I think I expected it to be more raucous, with these two guys hitting the road and having crazy adventures. Maybe on account of its R rating? Which is mainly due to fleeting nudity during bodily functions, part of the German New Wave’s disregard for propriety, I don’t know. Actually, this film is plotless in a leisurely, plaintive way with small incidents, two quiet, charismatic protagonists who don’t give much away, and an overall laidback tone. No doubt this is a result of the very improvisational nature of the film shoot (Wenders only had the opening meeting scripted). Beautifully shot by Robby Mueller in black and white, which does not make the film feel visually dated and makes it weirdly exist in its own time (though the projectionist equipment in this era of digital projection is a nostalgic presence). Shades of Paris Texas in the languid, bluesy score. I had to watch this in several sittings on an iPad, but I loved where the film took me and liked hanging out with these two intriguing lost souls. How it took pleasure in being able to drop in and sit in an empty cafe or lie back in a bed at the back of a truck and see the moon through the top window. Available to stream on Kanopy. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 