Alice in the Cities (1974)

A German journalist is saddled with a nine-year-old girl after encountering her mother at a New York airport.

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Wim Wenders, Veith von Fürstenberg (contributing writer)

Stars:

Yella Rottländer, Rüdiger Vogler, Lisa Kreuzer

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Philip Winter
Yella Rottländer	...	Alice van Damm
Lisa Kreuzer	...	Lisa van Damm (as Elisabeth Kreuzer)
Edda Köchl	...	Angela - Friend in New York
Ernest Boehm	...	Publisher
Sam Presti	...	Car Dealer
Lois Moran	...	Airport Hostess
Didi Petrikat	...	Woman at Swimming Park
Hans Hirschmüller	...	Police Officer
Sibylle Baier	...	Woman on Ferry
Mirko	...	Boy Singing Next to Jukebox

Storyline

German journalist Philip Winter has a case of writer's block when trying to write an article about the United States. He decides to return to Germany, and while trying to book a flight, encounters a German woman and her nine year old daughter Alice doing the same. The three become friends (almost out of necessity) and while the mother asks Winter to mind Alice temporarily, it quickly becomes apparent that Alice will be his responsibility for longer than he expected. After returning to Europe, the innocent friendship between Winter and Alice grows as they travel together through various European cities on a quest for Alice's grandmother.

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Plot Keywords:

road movie | journalist | airport | travel | search for self | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Handke, Austrian novelist and frequent Wenders collaborator, can be seen at about 1:22, in the Chuck Berry concert, sitting next to Rüdiger Vogler's character.

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Goofs

At 59:17 when Alice is coming out of the toilet, the door handle in the close-up is reverse (l-r) compared with the next shot when she opens the door.

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Quotes

Philip 'Phil' Winter: I got completely lost. It was a horrible journey. Once you leave New York City nothing changes anymore. It all looks the same. You can't imagine anything anymore. Above all, you can't imagine any change. I became estranged from myself. All I could imagine was going on and on like this forever. Some nights, I was sure I would go back the next morning. But then I'd keep on driving, listening to that vulgar radio and every night in a motel that looked just like all the others before. I'd watch ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in One Who Set Forth: Wim Wenders' Early Years (2007)

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Soundtracks

Under the Boardwalk
Written by Kenny Young and Alan Resnick
Performed by The Drifters and The Rolling Stones

User Reviews

A simple, yet profound story

To me, ALICE IN THE CITIES seems to be about the artificial world a lense creates. And a lense can be a lot of things - a TV screen, camera, windshield, windows, binoculars, mirrors, even loudspeakers. Everything is distorting reality. But I do not think, Wenders tries to criticize media per se. The criticism is aimed at living life through a series of filters which leads to loss of reality and oneself. Which in turn is paradoxical, because ALICE IN THE CITIES was created through a lense and meant to be consumed through a lense. But in the end, and that is also reflected in the movie, a lense is also a way to flee into said distorted reality.

With this movie, Wenders seems to lay the groundwork for masterpieces like PARIS, TEXAS and WINGS OF DESIRE in telling a simple, yet profound story, which stays with you for a long time because it's timeless.

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German English Dutch

Release Date:

17 May 1974 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Alice in the Cities

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$58,388

Company Credits

Production Co:

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Filmverlag der Autoren

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1