After half a century of making films, the director is back on form with The Salt of the Earth and shows no signs slowing down
Wim Wenders is responsible for some of the most profound films made about America – quite a feat considering he doesn’t have a drop of starred-and-striped blood in his body. Paris, Texas is the obvious example: a western in mood and iconography, no matter that it is set in 1980s Los Angeles. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1984 and remains the director’s masterpiece. In that film, and many others, he showed the world what America looked like, and helped America to see itself through foreign eyes. Even those pictures not set in the US – such as the great 1970s road movies Alice in the Cities and Kings of the Road, which made Wenders an arthouse darling – explore the influence, the voodoo romanticism, that America exerts beyond its borders.
Wenders turns 70 in August and is rightly the focus of celebration. At the Berlin film festival in February, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award. A month later, the Museum of Modern Art in New York presented a retrospective of his work. Such honours can sometimes serve as a kind of unofficial interment, but Wenders is as alert and indefatigable as ever. Two exhibitions of his photography have already been staged this year. He has a new film about to be released – The Salt of the Earth, his Oscar-nominated documentary about the photographer Sebastião Salgado – and another that premiered in Berlin this year. That was Every Thing Will Be Fine, a drama about the effect of a road accident on the life of a novelist played by James Franco. Unusually for an intimate story with no special effects, it was shot in 3D, a format Wenders used previously to sensual and pioneering effect in Pina, his documentary about the dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch.
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Reported by guardian.co.uk 22 hours ago.
An inquest into the death of glider pilot Michael Hugh England, 57, from Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, will be held in November.Mr England died of multiple injuries in a crash at Aston Down Airfield in Gloucestershire on June 14.Mr England was a member of Cotswold Gliding Club and had borrowed the glider.Speaking to the Echo after the crash, witness Richard Wills, who works at a car boot sale at the site, said the aircraft was flying normally, then he saw the front of the glider dip down a bit.He...
Reported by Gloucestershire Echo 14 hours ago.
THE Kings of Wessex Academy Class of 2015 celebrated the end of school years on a high.At 3.45pm on June 15, the school bell rang as normal to signal the end of the school day.But, it had greater significance for Year 11 as it marked the end of 11 years in formal education since they were five-years-old.For many, their next educational chapter will be the sixth form at Kings in September while others will be entering the world of apprenticeships or college.Many students were also celebrating the...
Reported by Cheddar Valley Gazette 12 hours ago.
An inquest into the death of a glider pilot near Stroud will be held in November.Michael Hugh England, 57, from Charlton Kings, died of multiple injuries in a crash at Aston Down Airfield on Sunday, June 14.He was a member of Cotswold Gliding Club and it is believed he had borrowed the glider.Air Accidents Investigation Board officials were at the scene the day after the crashWitness Richard Wills, who works at a car boot sale at the site, said at the time: "I have been working here for...
Reported by Gloucester Citizen 7 hours ago.
Locals, families and tourists alike topped up their sun tan while enjoying some of the finest beers and ciders on offer as the Grimsby Cleethorpes Lions Club hosted its 26th annual real ale Beer Festival.Hosted by the Cromwell Banqueting Suite, Kings Road, Cleethorpes, on Saturday and Sunday, guests are treated to a range of real ales and ciders at the free-entry festival.Organisers said money raised from the event will be split between a selection of charities in a bid to "give something...
Reported by Grimsby Telegraph 1 day ago.
Name: Keith Herring How long have you lived in Cheddar?40 yearsWhat brought you to the village?My wife, Barbara, and I came to Cheddar 40 years ago when I was appointed to the 'perfect job' to be head of the Kings of Wessex Comprehensive School.What did that move involve?Amalgamating the grammar school at Blackford with the Kings of Wessex School here in Cheddar.This had been already many years in planning by Harry Broome, Malcolm Ravenscroft and people like Bev Hearn and Don Higginbottom and...
Reported by Cheddar Valley Gazette 14 hours ago.
Gallery created by Gloucestershire Echo
Reported by Gloucestershire Echo 14 hours ago.
The glider pilot who died in a crash near Stroud took his own life, an inquest has heard.Michael Hugh England, 57, left a suicide letter before taking the flight at Aston Down, BBC News reported.He circled the former RAF wartime airfield before taking a steep dive in to the ground, and the Cotswold Gliding Club member died of multiple injuries, the opening of the inquest in to his death was told.Police found a suicide letter at Mr England's School Road, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham home, the...
Reported by Gloucester Citizen 11 hours ago.
A paedophile PE teacher and gymnastics coach who sexually abused teenage boys in three counties over a period of 22 years has been jailed for a total of 11 years. Disgraced former north Warwickshire teacher Bruce Gracie was described by a judge at Warwick Crown Court as a 'persistent and determined paedophile' who had ruined his victims' lives. Gracie (68) of Kings Lane, Newton Regis, near Tamworth, had pleaded guilty as long ago as September last year to 12 charges of indecent assault and three...
Reported by Tamworth Herald 13 hours ago.
A glider pilot took his own life by circling an airfield several times before nose-diving into the ground, an inquest heard.Michael Hugh England, 57, flew over Cotswold Gliding Club several times before making a steep dive to the ground on June 14.A pre-inquest hearing was told police found a suicide note at his home in Charlton Kings, following the crash at the airfield between Chalford and Minchinhampton.The inquest heard he died of multiple injuries at the scene.At the time, a Cotswold...
Reported by Gloucestershire Echo 12 hours ago.
ONE woman has suffered a neck injury in an two-vehicle crash near Oldway Mansion in Paignton this morning. Torquay Road is partially blocked and there are traffic delays near Kings Road.The ambulance service was called shortly after 9am on Monday.Emergency vehicles were still at the scene at 10.15pm. The extent of the woman's injuries are not known at present.
Reported by Torquay Herald Express 12 hours ago.
The 14-year-old schoolboy has admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent over the stabbing of supply teacher Vincent Uzomah, 50, at Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford on June 11.
Reported by MailOnline 8 hours ago.
The 14-year-old schoolboy who today admitted stabbing supply teacher Vincent Uzomah, 50, at Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford on June 11 had boasted on Facebook about the horrific attack.
Reported by MailOnline 5 hours ago.
