GOETHE FILMS: Until the End of the World

GOETHE FILMS: Until the End of the World

Presented by the Goethe-Institut

Conceived as the ultimate road movie and modern-day odyssey, this decades-in-the-making science-fiction epic from Wim Wenders follows the restless Claire Tourneur (Solveig Dommartin) as she pursues a mysterious stranger (William Hurt) in possession of a device that can make the blind see and bring dream images to waking life. With an eclectic soundtrack that gathers a host of the director’s favourite musicians, along with gorgeous cinematography by Robby Müller, this breathless adventure in the shadow of Armageddon takes its heroes to the ends of the earth and into the oneiric depths of their own souls. Presented in its triumphant 287-minute director’s cut, Until the End of the World assumes its rightful place as Wenders’ magnum opus, a cosmic ode to the pleasures and perils of the image and a prescient meditation on cinema’s digital future. (Criterion)

In order to enable his blind wife (Jeanne Moreau) to see, Dr. Farber (Max von Sydow) invents a process that makes it possible to transmit the images recorded in the brain of sighted people directly into the visual system of blind people. Farber’s son Sam (Hurt) sets out on a journey around the world in order to “see” and record the various stations of his mother’s life for her. The French woman Claire (Dommartin) falls in love with and follows him, with the author Eugene (Sam Neill), who is recording her adventure, on her heels.

The film was shot in 1990 and takes place in what was then the near future, around the turn of the millennium. What most (presciently) interested Wenders is how humanity learns to deal with images—or becomes their victim. Eugene notes: “In the beginning was the word. What would happen if only the image remained in the end!?”

Frustrated with the “Reader’s Digest” version of his film, which was forced upon him by his distributors, Wenders created a director’s cut two years after the film’s release: At a length of 4 1/2 hours, it lives up to his intentions and to the epic nature of the story.

Soundtrack: U2, Talking Heads, Elvis Presley, Lou Reed, T-Bone Burnett, Peter Gabriel, Laurent Petigand, Can, Elvis Costello, R.E.M., Julee Cruise, Crime & The City Solution, Chubby Checker, Boulevard of Broken Dreams Orchestra, Robbie Robertson & Blue Nile, Depeche Mode, Patti & Fred Smith, Neneh Cherry, Daniel Lanois, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Jane Siberry mit k.d. lang, Gondwanaland, David Darling, Mildred Hill and Patti Hill 

Palm d’Or winner Wim Wenders’ career spans six decades and over 50 films including Wings of Desire, Paris, Texas, and Buena Vista Social Club. Most recently Wenders (born 1945) impressed audiences and critics with Perfect Days (TIFF 2023) which earned him another Oscar nomination. Wenders is among the most significant representatives of New German Cinema and has been a global presence since the 1970s. His work, both fiction and documentary, has inspired generations of filmmakers and captivated audiences worldwide.

Part of series: GOETHE FILMS: World on a Wire

Part of the program (re)Open Minds: Adapting to the Future