Alice in den Städten (Wim Wenders, 1974)

Alice in the Cities dates to Wenders's German period in his decades-long fixation with the road movie, and reminds us that while he's never got to grips with structure - there's always at least one scene in which the dialogue loses focus and meanders stagily, looking for something deep to say - there's always been a concomitant emotional warmth in his gentle explorations. Here, after a shakily philosophising start, the story gets some impetus behind it as Rüdiger Vogler, a journalist down to his last dollars and out of inspiration, is stuck with a 9-year-old girl whose mother does a runner just before their return to Germany from the States. He's then left as a reluctant father figure to the girl, making their way through various German towns in search of her relatives. This could be unbearably cute in the wrong hands, but there's a saving understatement in their odd-couple relationship that provides some quite affecting moments. Like its protagonists, it never really ends up anywhere, but the scenery on the way is pleasant enough.

6/10