What to See at Wim Wenders’ Retrospective

CFA Announces Oeuvre-Spanning Retrospective of Iconic German Director Wim Wenders

Huang Chenkuang | May 10, 2019 1:00 pm | Add a comment | 459 reads

As one of the most iconic figures – along with the late Rainer Werner Fassbinder and the not so late Werner Herzog – of the New German Cinema movement, Wim Wenders has had a monumental influence on cinema in his home country and throughout the film world. It was during the aforementioned boom in German cinema during the 1970s that Wenders honed his craft, launching a hugely diverse body of work that is lauded for its depth, curiosity, and recognizable romantic visual style.

Now, to celebrate the director's 50-odd year career, the China Film Archive in cooperation with the Goethe Institut will screen a comprehensive 21-film retrospective, spanning the breadth of Wenders' oeuvre. Screenings will run at the archive from May 17 to Jun 30, and tickets are available via the ticketing app Taopiaopiao (淘票票, access via phone).

Screenings will include such notable works as Wenders' Paris, Texas, winner of the 1984 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or for its languid and realistic portrayal of one man's desolation, using the gorgeous and awe-inspiring American Southwest as a backdrop; the critically acclaimed Wings of Desire (1987), born out of Wenders' collaboration with avant-garde author Peter Handke; as well as his most recent documentary The Salt of the Earth (2014), a profile of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

All screenings will take place at the China Film Archive, and are scheduled as follows:

Paris, Texas (1984): Friday, May 17, 7pm; Saturday, Jun 8, 1.30pm; Sunday, Jun 30, 4pm
Alice in the Cities (1974): Saturday, May 18, noon; Sunday, Jun 2, 3.30pm
Kings of the Road (1976): Saturday, May 18, 2.40pm; Saturday, Jun 22, 1pm
Wrong Move (1975): Saturday, May 18, 8pm; Saturday Jun 1, 1pm
Pina (2011): Sunday, May 19, 3.15pm; Sunday, Jun 23, 3.35pm; Sunday, Jun 30, 1pm
Buena Vista Social Club (1999): Sunday, May 19, 1pm; Sunday, May 26, 6.20pm; Sunday, Jun 9, 1pm
The Salt of the Earth (2014): Sunday, May 19, 7pm; Saturday, Jun 8, 11am; Sunday, Jun 23, 1pm
Tokyo-Ga (1985): Monday, May 20, 7pm; Sunday, Jun 16, noon
Wings of Desire (1987): Tuesday, May 21, 7pm; Sunday, Jun 16, 2.15pm; Saturday, Jun 29, 3.50pm
Faraway, so Close! (1993): Saturday, May 25, 1pm; Saturday, Jun 15, 1pm
The State of Things (1982): Sunday, May 26, 1pm; Saturday, Jun 29, 1pm
A Trick of the Light (1995): Sunday, May 26, 3.45pm; Saturday, Jun 15, 4.10pm
Reverse Angle (1982): Sunday, May 26, 3.45pm; Saturday, Jun 15, 4.10pm
Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989): Tuesday, May 28, 7pm; Sunday, Jun 16, 5.10pm
Land of Plenty (2004): Thursday, May 30, 7pm; Saturday, Jun 8, 4.45pm
The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1972): Friday, May 31, 7pm; Tuesday, Jun 18, 7pm
Lisbon Story (1994): Saturday, Jun 1, 3.30pm; Tuesday, Jun 11, 7pm
Silver City Revisited (1969): Saturday, Jun 1, 3.30pm; Tuesday, Jun 11, 7pm
The Left-handed Woman (1977): Sunday, Jun 2, 1pm; Tuesday, Jun 25, 7pm
The American Friend (1977): Tuesday, Jun 4, 7pm; Sunday, Jun 9, 3.30pm
Same Player Shoots Again (1968): Tuesday, Jun 18, 7pm