g-moff "Everything has to change". This is the good-bye message which character Robert leaves to character Bruno after a few days of joint traveling through the 197ies West German countryside. Actually, not traveling: Bruno works as an independent cinema equipment repairman who visits small town cinemas to check their projector stuff and took Robert as a passenger after witnessing his rather clumsy suicide effort. Both are somehow reluctant (or unable) to really get involved with life and other people. They seem to have plenty of time, no hurry for both of them. And thus this movie proceeds at a snail's pace. Tormenting it felt sometimes and I was thankful for the "pause" button of my DVD player. "Kings of the road" was shot in 1976 West Germany. Watching it in 2017 felt really odd to me. Nowadays' motto sounds rather like 'modernize or tear down' - 'keep a tight schedule' - 'time is money' - 'everyone for himself' etc. - well, you know. 7,5 (=8) of 10 anyhow for remarkably beautiful takes (mind the side view mirrors!) and very adequate last minutes. In general, the combination of visually stunning shots and a rather dragging storytelling might actually strengthen the sustainable impression this movie is able to produce - if you can bear watching it all through.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) This is already the second time I watched Wim Wenders' "Im Lauf der Zeit" or "Kings of the Road" and even if I did not hate it as much as I did during the first watch, I still find it really underwhelming and nowhere near Wenders' best. I like "Wings of Desire" and "Alice in the Cities" a lot more. This 40-year-old film (made in 1976) we have here is a film is a two-man show basically from start to finish and quite a challenge for lead actors Rüdiger Vogler and Hanns Zischler as the film runs for almost three hours. Wenders made color films before and after, but here he made the creative choice of returning to black-and-white. This is the story of a friendship between two men as they spend together a whole lot of time on the road. One of them, a mechanic who does lots of repair work in theaters, is played by Vogler, while the other (Zischler) is a man who just turned single again after the relationship with his wife ended. I did not care for these two as much as I hoped I would. I like Vogler as an actor most of the time, but here he gave off a really unlikable vibe on many occasions and this was a huge problem as it certainly was not intended. Vogler's character was not half as interesting as he should have been with his background. Admittedly, the short performance of Marquard Bohm stayed more memorable to me, even if Wenders' attempt to show things could be way worse about wife struggles feels pretty clumsy. Lisa Kreuzer has a very small role only and as she is third in the credits, it shows how much the film is really only about the two main characters. She also adds very little as a short-time love interest to Vogler's character. The struggles of the latter were also really irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I personally enjoyed seeing Rudolf Schündler in here as I think he is by far the best thing about the Lümmel franchise, even if his character here is of course entirely different. As a whole, it is a film that is as slow as it gets and this is not necessarily a problem, can even be an advantage if the slowness still brings up interesting characters and elaborates profoundly on them. But I never developed interest in the duo here or even felt involved with their story and I do not think this is my fault, but the fault of writing characters that impossibly can carry this film, especially with this runtime. Still, with the whole atmosphere and setting of this road movie I am not surprised it received some awards attention, actually less than I expected. But I am very much surprised by this film's rating on IMDb as I think it is one of Wenders' weakest works from what I have seen so far and I don't think it has aged well at all. Also the parts about sexuality/masturbation add very little except cheap thrills. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

ellkew Watching this film is like having a satisfying meal. You feel completely nourished by the end of it, both mentally and physically. For me this film has many moments in it that drift back to me sometimes during my life. It is a tender story about the friendship developed between two men who are both wandering, both avoiding life yet experiencing things that others miss out on. They are both very free spirits yet bound by something, one by the truck , the other by his past, where he is from. They meet by chance and enjoy their company until they must part. Nothing is forced in the film and the relationship does seem to run a very natural course. A great thing about this film is that there is little dialogue in it and yet it does not impede the story flow. I like so much about this film. I read a book on Wenders a while back and I remember something he said. It was that the sensation of travelling is much more preferable to that of arriving or departing. For me this film is that. It is a feeling. One of my favourite moments is when Robert is in the back of the truck and he stares up at the moon through the skylight in the roof, his face staring at it as though it is the first time he has ever really looked at it. His eyes are open finally. It is extremely moving. A life affirming film that everyone should see. I adore it.

golem This is one of my all time favorite films. I love to sit back and just watch it go by. Every scene is worthy of a still photograph and there is little dialog to interfere with this quiet journey. Wenders seems to know what it's like to travel simply to escape ones current reality. The two main characters establish a friendship with few words, and seem to know inherently that too much talk would ruin the moment. It is a long film that moves slowly, so be prepared and get comfortable. It reminded me of the feeling I get on a long roadtrip when its just good to be anywhere but home.