Movie Review - - A City, a Sound and the Cinema... http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=980... HOME PAGE TODAY'S PAPER VIDEO MOST POPULAR TIMES TOPICS Log In Register Now Help Thursday, November 23, 2017 Movies Movies All NYT WORLD U.S. N.Y. / REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE HEALTH SPORTS OPINION ARTS STYLE TRAVEL JOBS REAL ESTATE AUTOS Search Movies or Showtimes by ZIP Code More in Movies » In Theaters Coming Soon Critics' Picks On DVD Tickets & Showtimes Trailers ArtsBeat MOVIE REVIEW Tickets & Showtimes TWITTER Enter your ZIP code or city to view tickets and showtimes in your area. A City, a Sound and the Cinema in Mutual LINKEDIN Thrall E-MAIL City, State or ZIP PRINT By JANET MASLIN More Theaters Near You » Published: August 1, 1997 SHARE Inspired by sweet, lilting music and a lovely city, Wim Wenders's ''Lisbon Story'' is a dreamy philosophical travelogue made in indulgently poetic style. The word ''story'' in the title is a misnomer, since this wispy film is more gentle meditation than outright tale. As a compendium of the filmmaker's esthetic and emotional predilections, the gently drifting ''Lisbon Story'' works better as a companion piece to Mr. Wenders's other work than as a free-standing invention. Yet perhaps because of its complete immersion in warmly inviting city scenes, the seductive Portuguese sound of a musical group called Madredeus and an explicit reverence for the magic of cinema, Mr. Wenders has called this his most entertaining film. The 1995 ''Lisbon Story,'' which finally opens today at the Anthology Film Archives, was financed by the City of Lisbon and commissioned as a work of civic boosterism, albeit one of exceptional contemplativeness and emotion. After committing himself to this setting, which he clearly knows intimately and affectionately, Mr. Wenders became enthralled by the haunting music of Madredeus and made those sounds equally integral to his film. The third element was cinema, and so ''Lisbon Story'' has the pretext of summoning a sound engineer to Lisbon to complete a friend's unfinished movie. With camera equipment ranging from video to antique invoked throughout the film, ''Lisbon Story'' tries also to make sense of a century of filmmaking tradition. Phillip Winter, the character played once again by Rudiger Vogler (who has appeared in many other Wenders films and has previously played this same role), is called to Lisbon by Friedrich Monroe (Patrick Bauchau), a filmmaker who has mysteriously vanished. ''Lisbon Story'' patiently records Winter's car trip, arrival and exploration of Friedrich's apartment, which has the kind of great, peeling paint that adds to the film's sense of romance. Soon Winter has made friends with a coterie of beautiful children (who like to play with cameras) and has begun making sense of Friedrich's film fragments. He is also stunned to hear Madredeus performing and is instantly bewitched by Teresa Salgueiro, the group's beautiful singer. Ms. Salgueiro, who fits in well with the un-self-conscious, home-movie conversational style here, has not acted before. Using his microphone as a divining rod, Winter begins roaming Lisbon in search 1 of 2 11/23/17, 9:02 AM Movie Review - - A City, a Sound and the Cinema... http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=980... of sounds. And as he looks for the exact accompaniment to match Friedrich's abandoned images, the film creates the urban portrait that is much of its raison d'etre. From stark modern structures to the red-roofed, white-walled vistas of the sun-baked old city, the Lisbon that emerges here is as deeply enticing as any Chamber of Commerce might hope. Mr. Wenders easily mixes Winter's gleeful treasure hunt for sounds with the larger discovery of this alluring place. As Winter meanders closer to finding out how and why Friedrich disappeared, the film begins to muse more intently on cinema's meaning. The filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira appears briefly to deliver a dignified little monologue laced with the biggest of ideas. (''What use is the universe?'' ''We want to imitate God and that's why we have artists.'') ''Lisbon Story'' culminates in much more of the same as Friedrich returns to debate with Winter. One of them asks, in Mr. Wenders's own impassioned manner, ''Why waste your life on junk images when you can make indispensable ones with your heart on magic celluloid?'' It's a noble ambition that is cherished even when not fulfilled by ''Lisbon Story.'' LISBON STORY Written and directed by Wim Wenders; screenplay consultant, Donata Wenders; director of photography, Liza Rinzler; edited by Peter Przygodda and Anne Schnee; production designer, Ze Branco; produced by Ulrich Felsberg, Paulo Branco and Mr. Wenders; released by Fox Lorber. At the Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, at Second Street, East Village. Running time: 100 minutes. This film is not rated. WITH: Rudiger Vogler (Phillip Winter), Patrick Bauchau (Friedrich Monroe), Teresa Salgueiro and Manoel de Oliveira (as themselves). © 2017 The New York Times Company Site Map Privacy Your Ad Choices Advertise Terms of Sale Terms of Service Work With Us RSS Help Contact Us Site Feedback 2 of 2 11/23/17, 9:02 AM.