1979·Drama·1h 44m
7.0
★
A London radio DJ receives news of his brother's suicide and travels west to Bristol to find out more.
Directed by Chris Petit
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Lisa Kreuzer
Ingrid
Sandy Ratcliff
Kathy
Sue Jones-Davies
Girl
Sting
Just Like Eddie
Tilly Vosburgh
Kim Taylforth
Crew
Chris Petit
Director
Chris Petit
Writer
Keith Griffiths
Producer
David Bowie
Songs
Ralf Hütter
Songs
Florian Schneider
Songs
Susannah Buxton
Art Direction
Wim Wenders
Associate Producer
Popular Reviews
16 reviews
Eli
9.0★ · 01/05/26
Beautifully empty in its sublime murkiness. A masterclass in B&W cinematography and a film about a man taking a journey without any clear destination. It’s a film that can easily be understood as time draining and distanced, as it kind of is, but In a way that’s in service and reflective of so many different themes about life and having a lack of true purpose in it, or at least feeling that way like the main protagonist does as the journey starts to unravel as an almost regretful and quietly disintegrating one to the spirit.
The road trip’s set on the backdrop of not only grey and murky cinematography to set the mood, but also a car with the radio constantly on to the sounds of music. typical to play music on a roadtrip just to ease the boredom of long drives and whatnot but in this case it means something a bit more. It’s a way for him to escape the bleakness he anticipates to find out on this journey of uncovering the death of his estranged brother. The film in a way shows music as a sort of escapism from our lives, to connect with something we share a pleasure and passion with that makes us feel less alone in our thoughts and problems through melodies and lyrics.
As soon as the music turns off and he gets out the car, the narrative asks, who are you when the music stops? What person are you when that distraction is no longer ringing and your ear and you’re forced to reckon and reflect on your life because of the quiet isolation of the open air. Robert when he finally looks to see the case with his estranged brother, he’s left confused, not even knowing what he truly wants out of this trip our what to make of his vague findings.
Over time through seeing the weight of others problems in light and not finding anything he’s searching for, he realizes how void of meaning his life seems. Even when he goes somewhere for a greater purpose like finding the reason behind the death of a close family member, he still only ends up finding himself wandering back in the streets aimlessly to find music to listen to. He realizes he has nothing truly to worry about other than finding a purpose when he sees the larger problems and trauma others carry with them. The static foggy and grey cinematography to fit the backdrop along with an arid city perfectly conveys the weight and lost atmosphere of loneliness.
The road trip’s set on the backdrop of not only grey and murky cinematography to set the mood, but also a car with the radio constantly on to the sounds of music. typical to play music on a roadtrip just to ease the boredom of long drives and whatnot but in this case it means something a bit more. It’s a way for him to escape the bleakness he anticipates to find out on this journey of uncovering the death of his estranged brother. The film in a way shows music as a sort of escapism from our lives, to connect with something we share a pleasure and passion with that makes us feel less alone in our thoughts and problems through melodies and lyrics.
As soon as the music turns off and he gets out the car, the narrative asks, who are you when the music stops? What person are you when that distraction is no longer ringing and your ear and you’re forced to reckon and reflect on your life because of the quiet isolation of the open air. Robert when he finally looks to see the case with his estranged brother, he’s left confused, not even knowing what he truly wants out of this trip our what to make of his vague findings.
Over time through seeing the weight of others problems in light and not finding anything he’s searching for, he realizes how void of meaning his life seems. Even when he goes somewhere for a greater purpose like finding the reason behind the death of a close family member, he still only ends up finding himself wandering back in the streets aimlessly to find music to listen to. He realizes he has nothing truly to worry about other than finding a purpose when he sees the larger problems and trauma others carry with them. The static foggy and grey cinematography to fit the backdrop along with an arid city perfectly conveys the weight and lost atmosphere of loneliness.
Beautifully empty in its sublime murkiness. A masterclass in B&W cinematography and a film about a man taking a journey without any clear destination. It’s a film that can easily be understood as time draining and distanced, as it kind of is, but In a way that’s in service and reflective of so many different themes about life and having a lack of true purpose in it, or at least feeling that way like the main protagonist does as the journey starts to unravel as an almost regretful and quietly disintegrating one to the spirit.
The road trip’s set on the backdrop of not only grey and murky cinematography to set the mood, but also a car with the radio constantly on to the sounds of music. typical to play music on a roadtrip just to ease the boredom of long drives and whatnot but in this case it means something a bit more. It’s a way for him to escape the bleakness he anticipates to find out on this journey of uncovering the death of his estranged brother. The film in a way shows music as a sort of escapism from our lives, to connect with something we share a pleasure and passion with that makes us feel less alone in our thoughts and problems through melodies and lyrics.
As soon as the music turns off and he gets out the car, the narrative asks, who are you when the music stops? What person are you when that distraction is no longer ringing and your ear and you’re forced to reckon and reflect on your life because of the quiet isolation of the open air. Robert when he finally looks to see the case with his estranged brother, he’s left confused, not even knowing what he truly wants out of this trip our what to make of his vague findings.
Over time through seeing the weight of others problems in light and not finding anything he’s searching for, he realizes how void of meaning his life seems. Even when he goes somewhere for a greater purpose like finding the reason behind the death of a close family member, he still only ends up finding himself wandering back in the streets aimlessly to find music to listen to. He realizes he has nothing truly to worry about other than finding a purpose when he sees the larger problems and trauma others carry with them. The static foggy and grey cinematography to fit the backdrop along with an arid city perfectly conveys the weight and lost atmosphere of loneliness.
The road trip’s set on the backdrop of not only grey and murky cinematography to set the mood, but also a car with the radio constantly on to the sounds of music. typical to play music on a roadtrip just to ease the boredom of long drives and whatnot but in this case it means something a bit more. It’s a way for him to escape the bleakness he anticipates to find out on this journey of uncovering the death of his estranged brother. The film in a way shows music as a sort of escapism from our lives, to connect with something we share a pleasure and passion with that makes us feel less alone in our thoughts and problems through melodies and lyrics.
As soon as the music turns off and he gets out the car, the narrative asks, who are you when the music stops? What person are you when that distraction is no longer ringing and your ear and you’re forced to reckon and reflect on your life because of the quiet isolation of the open air. Robert when he finally looks to see the case with his estranged brother, he’s left confused, not even knowing what he truly wants out of this trip our what to make of his vague findings.
Over time through seeing the weight of others problems in light and not finding anything he’s searching for, he realizes how void of meaning his life seems. Even when he goes somewhere for a greater purpose like finding the reason behind the death of a close family member, he still only ends up finding himself wandering back in the streets aimlessly to find music to listen to. He realizes he has nothing truly to worry about other than finding a purpose when he sees the larger problems and trauma others carry with them. The static foggy and grey cinematography to fit the backdrop along with an arid city perfectly conveys the weight and lost atmosphere of loneliness.
SamEssss
6.0★ · 01/19/23
TUNES!
TUNES!
Kieran Battams
7.0★ · 05/08/22
The soundtrack, camerawork and overall aesthetic are pure vibes from the very opening proudly blaring out David Bowie's Heroes contrasting wonderfully with a slow pan through a tatty apartment, nothing more and nothing less.
I found it quite hard to actually connect with at times, it's quite bleak and moves along at a snails pace, but sometimes vibes are all a film really needs to have without making you really have to think about anything deeper and it was certainly the kind of film I needed to unwind to after a long weekend.
I found it quite hard to actually connect with at times, it's quite bleak and moves along at a snails pace, but sometimes vibes are all a film really needs to have without making you really have to think about anything deeper and it was certainly the kind of film I needed to unwind to after a long weekend.
The soundtrack, camerawork and overall aesthetic are pure vibes from the very opening proudly blaring out David Bowie's Heroes contrasting wonderfully with a slow pan through a tatty apartment, nothing more and nothing less.
I found it quite hard to actually connect with at times, it's quite bleak and moves along at a snails pace, but sometimes vibes are all a film really needs to have without making you really have to think about anything deeper and it was certainly the kind of film I needed to unwind to after a long weekend.
I found it quite hard to actually connect with at times, it's quite bleak and moves along at a snails pace, but sometimes vibes are all a film really needs to have without making you really have to think about anything deeper and it was certainly the kind of film I needed to unwind to after a long weekend.
Zara
5.0★ · 03/01/22
something for boring people to watch so they can feel cool for knowing who wreckless eric is. absolutely nothing of substance here.
something for boring people to watch so they can feel cool for knowing who wreckless eric is. absolutely nothing of substance here.
Mark
5.0★ · 07/10/20
Unfamiliar with this until today after someone mentioned it in the Guardian's comments section. Then saw it was on BFI Player. I'm not saying don't watch it, the psychogeographical aspect is fascinating. It's no surprise the director has worked with Iain Sinclair. It is however extremely ponderous and ultimately goes nowhere.
Unfamiliar with this until today after someone mentioned it in the Guardian's comments section. Then saw it was on BFI Player. I'm not saying don't watch it, the psychogeographical aspect is fascinating. It's no surprise the director has worked with Iain Sinclair. It is however extremely ponderous and ultimately goes nowhere.