UTEOTW Dreaming Gliding Falling Panic (An Attempt at Introduction)
1999 was the year the Indian Nuclear Satellite went out of control. No one knew where it might land. It soared above the ozone layer like a lethal bird of prey. The whole world was alarmed... Claire couldn't care less. At the time, she was living her own nightmare. The same dream arrived each night. She was gliding over an unknown land, pleasantly at first, but then the gliding would turn into falling, the falling into panic, and then she'd wake up.

Thus begins (or middles?) the story behind Until the End of the World, a 1991 film by German director Wim Wenders. It is a dense story with a large cast of characters involved in deception, robbery, biotechnological innovation, addiction, and the relentless pursuit of desires located in the elusive bodies of the self and the other. Claire Tourneur, best described as the film's protagonist, is every person confused and unsure of who, where, or why they are in the world, only to become self-absorbed and insulated, even in the face of events that could drastically affect a sphere of humanity much larger than herself.

Until the End of the World is a film I've devoted a lot of thought to. Aside from enjoying it more with each viewing, it was and is significant in inspiring deep excursions into specific realms of self inquiry and self critique. I am developing these web pages so as to pay tribute to, provide information on, and critique what I believe to be an impressive cinematic vision.

This page last modified on Saturday, December 27, 1997, at 21:37 Please send comments and criticisms to Archie Harris (archii@panix.com). Copyright© 1997 Archie Harris. Some images Copyright© 1991 Australian Film Finance Corporation Pty Limited, Road Movies Filmproduktion GmbH and Argos Films SA