Alice in the Cities (Alice in den Stadten) (1973) 8/10
Nicely observed, and tender tale from Wim Wenders, about a writer suffering writers block, who upon leaving New York for his homeland of Germany comes across a mother and daughter, who like him are left at a loose end, when they are told they can not get a direct flight to Germany, so they book a flight to Holland together for the next day. He looks after the young girl Alice, while the mother tries to tie up loose ends with her husband, after receiving a note saying she can't go to Holland right away, the writer takes the young girl, and they wait for the mother in Amsterdam, but when she doesn't arrive as expected, he must look after Alice, and with money fast running out, things become intense. Yella Rottlander who plays Alice gives a wonderfully composed performace, she has the look of a girl lost in the world, who is used to constant disapointment, and who is in need of a father figure, but you see her grown thoughout the film, and in the end she becomes the stronger of the two characters, as he falls apart, she displays muturaity beyond her years. Like any key Wenders film, music and atmosphere play a key part, and this starts off very silent, before being bought to life by classic rock'n'roll, and the simple of haunting score from German band Can. The pacing of each scene is just about right, and it is a film where you are left to project your own thoughts and feelings on the characters and story itself. A beautiful film indeed.