The
End of Violence (1997)
Wide in it's scope, as is Wenders' current wont, "The
End of Violence" is perhaps his best "American" film
to date. Of course, what other "American" films has
he made? "Until the End of the World" isn't really American
nor is his "Faraway, So Close." The only other film
he has made entirely in English, set entirely in the
United States, that comes to mind is "Paris, Texas,"
and while I like this film more than the older one,
I bet most of Wenders' fans won't.
"The End of Violence" is about filmmaking as much as
anything else. To be more exact, how film and television
shape our societal perception of themes and ideas, including
violence. It's also about modern society, modern technology,
Orwellian paranoia and angst in modern society, violence
(to a small degree), and it is the story of one man's
metamorphosis into a whole human being thanks to a violent
situation which he survives.
The main character is a film producer named Mike Max.
He produces intelligent action films which are discussed
briefly but never really shown. He is kidnapped one
day, thanks to some pretty far-fetched plot points,
and survives the ordeal when both of his assailants
are killed. Now that I'm thinking about it, it is never
fully explained why or how they are killed, although
it is somewhat shown. And it seems to me, although I'm
probably misreading something here, that the ones who
kill the assailants should be the ones that set Max
up to be kidnapped and killed in the first place. So
why would they want to help Max? Wait...
I don't know, a lot of the film is hard to follow
like that. I'm not sure of Wender's plot points and
he's not really good about keeping them clear, either.
Suffice it say Max survives and he goes on the run and
hides out. A lot of the film, therefore, is about his
living with some Hispanics and continuing to try and
figure out why he was kidnapped. There are also subplots
about the continued filming of the flick Max was working
on (called "Violence"), Max's wife's storyline as she
was about to leave him when he was kidnapped, and a
sub-plot involving the detective on the case and the
lead actress in the film, a stunt woman getting her
first shot. Then there is, of course, the guy who caused
Max to be a target for murder as well as his boss, his
maid turned lover, and his father. Most of all that
happens is hard to follow and while it seems incongruous,
I'm sure Wenders has a reasoning that ties it all together,
even if it isn't clearly evident here. I think he may
be showing us how our ways of life are crumbling thanks
to violence - or crumbling, at least, because of society's
perception that we live in a violent society - and the
way the media, film television, music, exploits that
delusion.
This is a theme that hits close to home for me as
I am somewhat in agreement of such thought. For example,
there is a perception in our society today that all
teenagers are in gangs. Why is this? Because "gangs"
were popularized by the media, particularly tabloid
type news, and common suburbanites were warned to look
for signs of such things in their teenagers. Now what
constitutes a gang? A group of teenagers. Well, teenagers
have gathered in groups since the dawn of time. But
now groups of teenagers are called "gangs." And we know
quite well if you tell a child something repeatedly,
he will begin to believe it himself. For example, if
you call a child "bad" repeatedly, he will think of
himself as being "bad" and therefore do "bad" things.
So, if you call a group of teenagers a "gang" they will
begin to think of themselves as a "gang" and start to
do the sort of things "gangs" do. It's a media-fed frenzy
which becomes a vicious circle and a self-fulfilling
prophecy. "It's like throwing on the lightswitch to
see the darkness," as one character says here. It's
a snake eating it's own tail.
So what is so good about this jumbled and somewhat
vague film? Well, for one, the theme is interesting
as is the story. Pullman changes because of his ordeal
while his wife (Andie MacDowell), becomes more like
his old self after he is absent. The love story between
the cop (Loren Dean) and the stuntwoman (Traci Lind)
is quite nice and beautifully handled. Plus Wenders
breaks into all sorts of asides that either feature
unusual situations or wonderfully familiar faces. Some
of the most interesting stuff takes place in an art
space\classroom that is never really explained but where
an African American female does a beautiful bit about
being molested by her father and a rap singer (K. Todd
Freeman), a secondary character, does a poetic piece
that is somewhat relevant to the film's theme.
As for the actors, it is a regular bevy of wonderful
stars, some from Wenders' repertoire, some not. The
film features no less than Rosalind Chao, Gabriel Byrne,
Daniel Benzali, Samuel Fuller, Frederic Forrest, Udo
Kier, Peter Horton, Sam Phillips, Black Encyclopedia,
and Me'Shell Ndegeocello. Of these, it is great mostly
to see Fuller and Kier. Fuller, looking rather aged
and not so good, also has trouble with his lines. But
his character is an old man and so it all fits nicely
in the film. It is easy to see, however, that he is
not the man he once was. It's not surprising to us that
he died soon after filming. Kier, while only having
a very small part, is in top form. He is delicious here.
"The End of Violence" has problems. For one thing,
there is not enough violence in it. That may be Wenders'
point, however. There is a government project as a part
of the plot that will attempt to end most crime and
violence by using high powered surveillance systems
from space satellites that, it seems, also can kill
someone from space. This is supposed to be disquieting
because it also allows the "government" the ability
to spy on everyday citizens in their daily lives. (This
is shown wonderfully and seemingly unexplained early
in the film). By not showing any violence, really, except
on film sets and TV images, Wenders may be claiming
that there is actually no "real" violence and so this
system, a sort of "Big Brother is Watching You" for
the 21st century, is only an excuse for the government
to invade our privacy. This may be further enhanced
with the use of an Edward Hopper-looking set in the
film within a film. Here, Wenders set a stage for a
violent shot that is really only a soundstage, not reality.
By using a Hopper styled set (like the diner scene often
associated with James Dean), Wenders may be trying to
recall the unjustifiable paranoia of the 50's, that
time when Americans worried about communist spies and
juvenile delinquents for (in hindsight again) no real
rational reason. It was all media and hysteria. Maybe
Wenders is trying to say our current fascination with
it as well, by also including a gangster rapper, is
simply a trend. Something that will soon end. Wenders
may be saying violence is a fad.
Regardless of what Wenders is really trying to say
here, and even with it's hard to discern plot points,
"The End of Violence" is a wonderful film to watch.
While it's still nowhere near the quality and beauty
of his earlier 70's work, it is still better than most
Hollywood product out there these days. Maybe "The End
of Violence" is the beginning of a new phase in Wenders
career. As always, it will be interesting to see what
he attempts next.
Notes:
Wenders co-wrote the story with scripter Nicholas Klien.
He also served as a producer.
Score by Ry Cooder. Pop songs by Spain, Howie B, DJ
Shadow, eels, Latin Playboy, Los Lobos, Michael Stipe
and Vic Chesnut, U2 and Sinead O'Connor, Roy Orbsion
(a newly found song completed by Brian Eno), Tom Waits,
and Whiskey Town.
A Wenders directed music video, which uses a lot of
film from the movie shown in a horizontal split- screen,
for the soundtrack song by Spain is included at the
end of the videocassette version of the film.
Wenders uses a lot of Lynch people here, including
Pullman, who also worked in Lynch's "Lost Highway" this
year. Also Patricia Norris (Costume Design, Art Director)
and Deepak Nayar (Producer).
The Nepotism Factor: Donata Wenders is credited with
"Stills," Hella Wenders is listed as an "Intern."
Filmed in California on a budget of $5 million.
Review written in 1998
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