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Country: Germany
Genre: Drama
Year of Production: 1973
Format: 16mm b&w (brand new 35mm release print)
Running Time: 110 minutes
Certificate: U
Theatrical Release date: 4th January 2008
DVD Release date: 26th May 2008
One of the key films of the New German Cinema, ALICE IN THE CITIES marked the emergence of Wim Wenders as one of the most distinctive European filmmakers of the 1970s. It is also widely accepted to be one of the director's most poignant films and the first to be shot partly in the United States.
Philip Winter, a journalist with writer's block, becomes the guardian of eight year-old Alice (Yella Rottlander) when her mother leaves the girl with him briefly at an American airport, only never to return. Back in Germany, an unlikely friendship develops between the two as they embark on a journey to find Alice's grandmother.
Through Rudiger Vogler's portrayal of the embittered Winter, Wenders presents a stark but witty account of the changing face of Europe, the onset of global consumerism and the influences of American pop culture.
"one of Wenders's crispest, finest moments"
Tim Robey, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
"More distinctive than ever... an intriguing movie that lives in the mind for hours after the lights have come up"
(4 STARS)
Peter Bradshaw, THE GUARDIAN
"a bittersweet gem...which rings as true today as it would have more than 30 years ago...the richness and depth of both the photography and the characterisation manage to brush any signs of preachiness and sentimentality from view."
CRITICS' CHOICE
(4 STARS)
TIME OUT
"One of the films that altered my perception of cinema"
Walter Salles
"well worth rediscovering... warm and elegiac"
CRITICS' CHOICE
THE INDEPENDENT
"Wonderful stuff"
(4 STARS)
THE INDEPENDENT
4 STARS
THE TIMES
"a gem... suffused with a typically wry humour and a gentle humanity that make this a reissue of considerable value"
Jason Solomons, MAIL ON SUNDAY
"engaging"
(4 STARS)
THE SUNDAY TIMES
"The power of the film is undiminished by the passing the years"
(4 STARS)
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
"classic Wenders... consistently surprising... a haunting fairytale"
FILM FOUR
"stunningly shot... a treat"
EMPIRE
"Touching but never sentimental"
(4 STARS)
Derek Malcolm, THE EVENING STANDARD
"a tender but unsentimental portrait...there's a freshness and conviction to (Alice's) performance that gives the whole film its purpose and clarity."
Wendy Ide, THE TIMES
4 STARS
LONDON LITE
"the classic is…an uplifting joy... unsentimental and enchanting."
(4 STARS)
METRO
"one of Wenders's most accomplished films... an intelligent and stangely touching tale"
Allan Hunter, THE DAILY EXPRESS
"captivating performances from both Vogler and Rottlander provide the beating heart"
BBC MOVIES
"amusing, affectionate... (with) superb cinematography"
(4 STARS)
David Parkinson, RADIO TIMES
"an essential watch...gloriously uplifting"
(4 STARS)
FILM REVIEW
"memorably shot...unsentimental and dryly amusing"
(4 STARS)
TOTAL FILM
4 STARS
SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
"An essential watch for any fan of Wim Wenders...exuberant"
(4 STARS)
FILM FOUR
"Wise, perceptive and beautifully shot early Wenders"
THE LIST
"many astounding moments"
LITTLE WHITE LIES
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