Until the End of the World
Reviews
Filipe Manuel Neto
**A Pharaonic work that went terribly wrong.** Have you ever tried to do something extremely complicated and ambitious and failed because of the enormity of what you were trying to do? I bet that even those to whom this has never happened will be able to name some examples: Pharaonic public works that went wrong or never came to fruition in full, private projects and companies that failed because of their own mistakes. There will be no shortage of examples, and I think we can add this film to that list, since the main flaw stems from the ambitions of its creator. Wim Wenders is one of the great German directors of our time and no one can deny him this merit, not even those who don't really appreciate his style, or who criticize him (with some propriety) for having transformed, in recent years, into that kind of director that he criticized at the beginning of his career. However, what he wanted to do in this film was a task far beyond his capabilities and ingenuity. An epic lasting more than twenty hours that was condensed into a summary of three and a half hours and, years later, partially restored in the form of the “director's version”, lasting almost six hours. I made the mistake of trying to see precisely the latter, believing that I was seeing the version closest to the creator's vision. However, what he gives us is so uninteresting and so confusing that I wasted my time. The story begins with the threat of an Indian nuclear satellite, which will crash to earth, and then introduces Claire, a young woman who seems to be looking for a direction in her life in the midst of a futile existence. After a car accident in which she meets two bank robbers, she agrees to take the stolen money to Paris, in exchange for a percentage. In the midst of this, she helps a mysterious man who appears to be fleeing from a murderer and who steals some of her money. Committed to recovering him, she follows him around the world and ends up hiring a private detective. As I believe you can already understand from this summary, the plot is not devoid of good ideas and had potential. With the characters always on the move, traveling the world, the film is not monotonous and has some potential for light comedy (although Wenders' humor is completely German, and we know what that means). However, the film gets lost in constant twists and turns that go nowhere. Circulating from one country to another, the plot wastes hours of our lives in a story without substance or content. Wenders doesn't spare us and gives us long scenes where the characters drive cars, walk or make phone calls. He looks like a five-year-old kid who starts telling his parents the most complicated story just to ask for a toy he saw in a store. This is what ruins the film and makes it unbearable. Oh, and of course, the issue of the falling satellite ends up completely forgotten in all this. The production values are quite good considering it's a European film and the millions from the Hollywood machine are absent from the equation. Wenders managed to create some somewhat futuristic elements such as public telephones with video calling or police motorcycles with a bold and bizarre appearance. The urban settings seem hostile, with all sorts of trash and graffiti. The cinematography is magnificent, and the director makes the most of it, as is usual in the films he makes, but on the other hand, the soundtrack is virtually inaudible and does not add any quality to the final work. Solveig Dammartin was a good choice for the main character. She is elegant, and gives her character a special charm throughout the film. Unfortunately, she can't do miracles with the material given to her. Sam Neill also makes the most of the occasion in the best way he can, but the film is far from being one of the best of his career, and the same can be said of William Hurt. Both are committed, and the work of this trio of actors ends up being the most redeeming value that the film has to present to us. Unfortunately, they are stuck with the incoming material, which completely kills their efforts.
Movie Recommendation
Early Spring1956-01-29A young Tokyo salary man and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he has an extramarital affair.More...
The Breaking Point1950-10-06A fisherman with money problems hires out his boat to transport criminals.More...
Batty Baseball1944-04-22A series of visual gags about baseball. One running gag has an angry fan screaming "Kill the ump!" Be careful what you wish for.....More...
The Singer Not the Song1961-01-05A Roman Catholic priest defies a Mexican bandit whose gang kills villagers in alphabetical order.More...
Golden Door2006-09-22The story is set at the beginning of the 20th century in Sicily. Salvatore, a very poor farmer, and a widower, decides to emigrate to the US with all his family, including his old mother. Before they embark, they meet Lucy. She is supposed to be a British lady and wants to come back to the States. Lucy, or Luce as Salvatore calls her, for unknown reasons wants to marry someone before to arrive to Ellis Island in New York. Salvatore accepts the proposal. Once they arrive in Ellis Island they spend the quarantine period trying to pass the examinations to be admitted to the States. Tests are not so simple for poor farmers coming from Sicily. Their destiny is in the hands of the custom officers.More...
The Executioner1963-08-31An undertaker gets married to an old executioner's daughter and, although he doesn't like it, must continue the profession of his father-in-law after his retirement.More...
Carne1991-11-10After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.More...
Heaven's Gate1980-11-19Harvard graduate James Averill serves as the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyoming, standing at the center of a conflict between impoverished immigrants and affluent cattle farmers. Politically connected ranchers enlist mercenary Nathan Champion—who is also vying for the affections of local madam Ella Watson—to combat the immigrant uprising. As tensions escalate, both Averill and Champion start to question their decisions.More...
Diva1981-03-11Jules, a young Parisian postman, secretly records a concert performance given by the opera singer Cynthia Hawkins, whom he idolises. The following day, Jules runs into a woman who is being pursued by armed thugs. Before she is killed, the woman slips an audio cassette into his mail bag...More...
Brainstorm1983-09-30Two brilliant research scientists have invented a device capable of recording and playing back sensory experiences only to have devastating results when one of them records their own death.More...
The Million Dollar Hotel2000-02-09A federal agent searches for a potential killer among the bizarre residents of a dilapidated Los Angeles hotel.More...
Suzhou River2000-04-04After getting out of prison, small-time crook Mardar stumbles upon a woman who looks exactly like his long-lost lover, who he attempted to kidnap 3 years ago.More...
Nanook of the North1922-06-11This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.More...
Doctor Who1996-05-12The Seventh Doctor becomes the Eighth. And on the streets of San Francisco – alongside new ally Grace Holloway - he battles the Master.More...
The American Friend1977-06-24Tom Ripley, an American who deals in forged art, is slighted at an auction in Hamburg by picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman. When Ripley is asked by gangster Raoul Minot to kill a rival, he suggests Zimmerman, and the two, exploiting Zimmerman's terminal illness, coerce him into being a hitman.More...
Ash Is Purest White2018-09-21Set in China's underworld, this tale of love and betrayal follows a dancer who fired a gun to protect her mobster boyfriend during a fight. On release from prison 5 years later, she sets out to find him.More...
Tatami2024-03-08Iranian female judokas Leila and her coach Maryam, travel to the Judo World Championship, intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the Judo World Championships, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake, Leila is faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach Maryam implores her to do, or fight on, for the gold.More...
Alphaville1965-05-05Lemmy Caution is on a mission to eliminate Professor Von Braun, the creator of a malevolent computer that rules the city of Alphaville. Befriended by the scientist’s daughter Natasha, Lemmy must unravel the mysteries of the strictly logical Alpha 60 and teach Natasha the meaning of the word “love.”More...
The Odyssey2016-10-12The aquatic adventure of the highly influential and fearlessly ambitious pioneer, innovator, filmmaker, researcher, and conservationist, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, covers roughly thirty years of an inarguably rich in achievements life.More...
Birth2004-10-29It took Anna 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, Sean, but now she's on the verge of marrying her boyfriend, Joseph, and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean turns up, saying he is her dead husband reincarnated. At first she ignores the child, but his knowledge of her former husband's life is uncanny, leading her to believe that he might be telling the truth.More...
Similar Movies
Highway
2002-03-26Jack is caught with the wife of his employer, a Vegas thug. The thug sends goons after Jack, who convinces his best friend, Pilot, to flee with him. Pilot insists that they head for Seattle, but doesn't tell Jack why. The goons learn from Pilot's drug source where the youths are headed, and they follow, hell bent on breaking Jack's feet. On the road, Jack and Pilot give a ride to Cassie, a distressed young woman. She and Jack hit it off. They pick up an aging stoner headed to Seattle for Kurt Cobain's memorial, and they help a circus sideshow family. Why is Pilot so set on Seattle, will the goons catch Jack, and is there any way the friends' competing needs can be resolved?Going West
2018-01-05An unemployed music teacher takes his estranged transgender parent on a road trip to the west coast of Norway, in order to honor his late mother's excellent quilting skills.The Hit
1984-09-07Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.Cross Country Cruise
1934-01-16A young woman is involved with a married man, although she does not know that he is married. He kills his jealous wife and implicates her in the murder. However, a playboy character who had been flirting with the woman earlier turns amateur detective and clears her.The Adventures of Roc...
2000-06-30Rocky and Bullwinkle have been living off the finances made from the reruns of their cartoon show. Boris and Natasha somehow manage to crossover into reality and team up with Fearless Leader, an evil criminal turned media mogul with some evil plans up his sleeve. Rocky and Bullwinkle must stop the three of them before they wreak havoc.Morvern Callar
2002-11-01After her boyfriend commits suicide, a young woman attempts to use the unpublished manuscript of a novel and a sum of money he left behind to reinvent her life.Nico, 1988
2017-10-12Approaching age 50, singer/songwriter Nico leads a solitary existence, far from her days as a Warhol superstar and celebrated vocalist for the Velvet Underground in the 1960s. Her life and career on the fringes, Nico's new manager convinces her to hit the road again and tour in Europe to promote her latest album. She longs to rebuild a relationship with her son, whose custody she lost long ago.Broken Gardenias
2014-06-22Jenni, an orphaned semi-savant, and a street hustler named Sam, steal a car and head to Los Angeles to find Jenni's father whom she hasn't seen or heard from since she was six years old.SE ROBA
2025-02-16There is no descriptionHard Feelings
No data for this movieHigh school senior Nami, after being confronted with a crucial decision, embarks on a journey with her ex-boyfriend Zay to make a decision about her future.Childish Things
2025-07-13A 30-year-old musician questions his resolve to marry his longtime girlfriend when he meets a free-spirited woman on his cross-country roadtrip.Little Miss Sunshine
2006-07-26A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant.Picnic
1972-09-01Three couples go on a picnic date to a riverside unbeknownst to their families. On the way back their car breaks down, forcing them to spend the night in a nearby inn. During their stay, each couple must go through a test to prove their love.Thanks for Everything...
2019-12-25Sisters Marianne and Christine take a road trip from Montreal to the Magdalen Islands to spread the ashes of their late father. He wasn’t exactly an angel, and his associates are hot on their trail.The Devil's Rejects
2005-07-22The murderous, backwoods Firefly family take to the road to escape the vengeful Sheriff Wydell, who is not afraid of being as ruthless as his target.Bird on a Wire
1990-05-18An FBI informant has kept his new identity secret for 15 years. Now an old flame has recognised him, and the bad guys are back for revenge.Over the Top
1987-02-13Lincoln Hawk a hard-luck big-rig trucker takes us under the glaring Las Vegas lights for all the boisterous action of the World Armwrestling Championship. Relying on wits and willpower, Hawk tries to rebuild his life by capturing the first-place prize money, and the love of the son he abandoned years earlier into the keeping of his rich, ruthless father-in-law.Fear and Loathing in ...
1998-05-22Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.SommerHundeSöhne
2005-09-08Summer is the time to travel, enjoy life, and do or leave what you want. A motor home with two occupants makes its way south. But the two travelers do not travel voluntarily, and certainly not together.Breakdown
1997-05-02On their cross-country drive, a married couple, Jeff and Amy Taylor, experience car trouble after their SUV breaks down. Stranded in the New Mexico desert, the two catch a break when a passing truck driver offers Amy a ride to a nearby café to call for help. Meanwhile, Jeff is able to fix the car and make his way to the café, but Amy isn't there. He tracks down the trucker ― who tells the police he's never seen Jeff or his wife before. Jeff then begins a desperate, frenzied search for Amy.