Lisbon Story

Made in 1994, Wim Wenders' whimsical road movie begins with a lovely cinematic toast to Federico Fellini, whose death is noted in a glimpsed newspaper. Rudiger Vogler stars as Phillip Winter, a soundman who is summoned to Lisbon by a friend and documentarian who needs help on a project. His drive across Europe is exquisitely rendered; a windshield's-eye view accompanied by a montage of local radio broadcasts that mark his passage. But the film gradually runs out of gas: Winter's friend is nowhere to be found, and he wanders the streets recording sound effects, eventually making the acquaintance of a beautiful singer and some Portuguese children who are armed with video cameras. Part travelogue and part treatise on the nature of cinema, this is an intriguing curio from the director of Wings of Desire. Optional. (K. Lee Benson)