Alice in the Cities (Blu-ray)

A photographer finds himself saddled with a young girl whom he must return home, in Wim Wenders’ international breakthrough.

Philip Winter (Wenders regular Radiger Vogler) is at a New York airport when he encounters a young mother. Before he knows it, he is stuck with the woman’s nine-year-old daughter (Yella Rottlander), with no information regarding where in Germany she lives. Arriving home, the photographer and his young charge make their way around the country in an attempt to return her to her family. Philip and Alice’s bond grows stronger as he documents the way the German landscape has changed, emerging from the decades-long impact of the Second World War.

The first entry in Wenders’ loose road trilogy – it was followed by Wrong Movement and Kings of the Road– is one of his most charming films. Vogler is at his charismatic best, and Rottländer proved herself to be a strong screen presence. A stunning European road movie – a genre that for so long was dominated by US film production – Wenders’ drama is as spirited as it is evocative.