This is an astounding movie, and as others have noted, it is precisely the kind of movie that passes most people by because it rocks so gently as to be almost imperceptible.
The first time I saw this, I was disappointed. 'Until the End of the World', to me, is a brilliant piece of work, with more beauty, reverie, and complexity than any ten average films put together.
So...I was ready for some heady stuff with 'End'. But the movie seemed to be lost, missing in action.
But six months later I watched it on video, and I realized I was looking at an entirely different movie.
Then I watched it again...and again, and again, until I'd seen the thing ten times, including one where I only listened to the film, to see if I was simply addicted to Wim's luminous visuals.
What you realize is that this film is cooking up some very threatening ideas about the quality and nature of love, and the companion six degrees of violence and hatred. It is really about the way in which fear and love pulse in contrary and similar ways, much like particle and wave, dancing together.
It's also a fantastic critique the "confederacy of dunces" and the manner in which we manufacture enemies to suit our paranoia.
I must say that there are few directors that move me as much as Wim Wenders, and I have to confess that I have cried many times over the beauty and grace of some of the scenes and visuals in this movie. Much like Robert Altman or Atom Egoyan, Wenders cares about people, believes in their struggles, and he creates tension that moves them, at least temporarily, to understand their natures more fully.
A masterpiece, if a masterpiece means your heart moves even slightly...
PS Ry Cooder's soundtrack is brilliant!
