Don't Come Knocking

Twenty years after "Paris, Texas", Sam Shepard returns with a sequel. Again, a family affair, our hero is searching for his roots in little towns and deserted landscapes.

The production shines from multiple angles. A superb set of actors, and Shepard's own fine performance as Howard -– a Westerns' actor of faded glory -- is almost eclipsed by (his life partner) Jessica Lange as the estranged mother of his son, Gabriel Mann as Earl, the son, and Eva Marie Saint as his stately mother. Comical roles by Tim Roth as the taciturn Sutter, a bounty hunter, and Fairuza Balk as the hilarious Amber, Earl's girlfriend, save the film from turning overly melodramatic.

In addition to the cast, Franz Lustig's cinematography is precisely lit and fluctuates between extremely realistic point-of-view shots with nausea-evoking 360-degree turns and time compression shots. The soundtrack is beautiful and includes some original pieces, and the costume design shines as well (although few people would wear those flamboyantly elegant outfits in Montana).

Despite all of its artistic achievements – acting, cinematography, score, and design – Don't Come Knocking suffers from a weak story line. A tired cliché about the man who've seen it all, had it all, but was never completely happy, and thus he abandons everything in search of the mother he hasn't seen in 30 years, and later his old lover and unknown off-springs. In the end, of course, they are all good, forgiving buddies. Don't Come Knocking is Hollywood sugarcoated at heart, but comes with generous helping of superb cinema, Wenders's signature forte.

Greetings again from the darkness. Terribly underrated as a director, Wim Wenders has more than a couple of gems on his resume. Most notable are "Wings of Desire" and "Paris, Texas". Without question, "Don't Come Knocking" immediately jumps into the same class as those two extraordinary films. Collaborating with the insanely talented writer Sam Shepard for the first time since "Paris, Texas", Wenders offers up a character study that many of us have more in common with than we might first imagine.

With a rare appearance in a film he has written, Mr. Shepard plays Howard Spence, a washed up western film star who hits the road in search of the life he somehow missed. Admittedly, when the film opens with Howard galloping off into the desert away from the film set, my stomach began to churn as I had flashbacks to "Electric Horseman". Not long afterward, I became mesmerized by the pain of this man seeking redemption and meaning. Sure, there will be comparisons to "Broken Flowers" and many other meaning of life films, but writer Shepard never once pretends to be writing the great American self realization story. This is a VERY simple story about a handful of VERY interesting characters.

Jessica Lange (Shepard's real life honey) plays his long ago, nearly forgotten love who has never wandered from her small town Montana roots. What Shepard learns, after visiting with his mother (Eva Marie Saint) for the first time in 30 years, is that Lange has raised Shepard's son (Gabriel Mann). The focus drastically shifts for Shepard as he tries to make sense of it all. Just to add to his misery, Shepard is stalked by Sarah Polley (carrying her mom's remains in an urn), who suspects she is his daughter.

The genius of the film lies in the characters and setting. We never feel we are observing. Instead, we are part of the story. Winders camera angles really capture the thought cycles of Shepard in the motel room, at the bar and on the sofa in the road. Watching this would-be dad and these might-be kids come to terms with all of this is on one hand, slyly funny, but mostly intensely painful and intimate.

Spectacular performances by Shepard, Lange, and Eva Marie Saint, as well as strong support from Tim Roth, Polley, Mann and even the great George Kennedy make the story unfold in our reality. Wenders terrific camera work and small town setting with stunning panoramic views keep us comfortable, yet very aware. The pulsing guitar of the seemingly everywhere T Bone Burnett drives our pulse up or down depending on the scene.

This is marvelous film-making and pure joy for film lovers. At the post screening Q&A, Mr. Wenders expressed his enthusiasm for working with Mr. Shepard and creating a masterpiece out of a seemingly little story. We as movie goers are the lucky ones.

Wim Wenders' makes extraordinary movies about ordinary people. Whether the inhabitants are important personalities or 'little people', they are always especial because of their humanity.

When I did an internet movie quiz that supposedly answered the question, ¨If someone made a movie about your life, who would direct it?¨ I kinda hoped it would be Wenders. His characters are tiny flecks on a vast landscape, made infinitely interesting by fine observation and untiring attention. Each character is a mystery unravelling.

In 'Don't Come Knocking', we follow the almost incomprehensible actions of a leading Hollywood actor (played by Sam Shepherd) who absconds from a film set in the middle of the American desert. He is struggling to escape a lifelong persona of drink, drugs and women, but doesn't know what he is looking for or why he feels life has passed him by. He is nudged occasionally in the right direction by his mother, and followed by a mysterious young woman carrying her mother's ashes – and whose knowing smile gently holds back a reservoir of yet-to-be-explained emotion.

Wenders can never be accused of hurrying things along. His movies can be like watching paint dry – except that when the painting is finally ready to touch we may feel a masterpiece has just crystallized before our eyes. This is perhaps one of those occasions. Tim Roth as the inscrutable bond man tracking down the wayward actor is barely recognisable till half way through the film, so perfect is the characterisation. Sarah Polley as the mysterious Sky can almost make us burst into tears before we have any idea why, or of the secret she is holding. Shepherd plays Howard Spence with biopic-like conviction. Add a score by T-Bone Burnett that seems to suspend time in the desert with guitar chords that hang in the air, and framed scene upon scene that looks like a classic movie poster waiting to be discovered.

Don't Come Knocking is like one big Do Not Disturb sign on the things we most need to know and that no-one wants to tell us. It's why they're secret – and why we also have to know. The film takes a very long time to answer it's own puzzle but, if you can stand the pace, the result is ultimately worth it.

119 minutes – that's a relatively long runtime for a movie. But that doesn't have to mean it'll be boring. The sparse dialog in this movie isn't really what it's all about anyway. It's all about the emotions and the amazing pictures.

Sam Shepard portrays his role so wonderfully that you can sense his frustration with his life and his search for some meaning and his longing to change his ways.

Eva Marie Saint is equally adept at her portrayal of the old western actor's mom.

Jessica Lange, though, is truly outstanding. She steals the movie with one scene in particular and really deserves an award for her work in this film.

At the end of the day: this is Wim Wenders as we know him and as we like him best.

While filming "The Phanton of the Desert" in the middle of nowhere in Moab, Utah City, the washed-out veteran actor Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) has an existential crisis and leaves the location riding a horse. Howard was a famous cowboy in western movies in the past, but is decadent due to his reckless and explosive behavior, abusive use of booze and drugs and scandalous affairs with many women. Howard gets some money, destroys his credit cards, rents a car and takes a bus later to Elko, his hometown in Nevada. He meets his mother, who tells him that he has a son. He drives to Butte, Montana, where he finds the former waitress Doreen (Jessica Lange), her son Earl (Gabriel Mann), the mysterious Sky (Sarah Polley) with the ghosts he left behind and the life that he could have had. Meanwhile, the production calls the insurance company that sends the investigator Sutter (Tim Roth) to chase him.

"Don't Come Knocking" is an original and sad story about existential and identity crisis of a man that reaches the third age with his career and personal life in a complete mess, totally disconnected from family and friends and maybe missing a different lifestyle with a family of his own. He decides to meet his past, but always chased by his troubled present with younger women and alcohol. The direction of Wim Wenders is effective as usual, supported by engaging story, screenplay and dialogs in partnership with the lead actor Sam Shepard. The acting is top-notch, and the locations especially in the beginning and in the casino have magnificent cinematography. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Estrela Solitária" ("Lonely Star")