VENICE -- In very different ways, Paul Jeffries and his niece Lana have each gone the extra mile in their love for their homeland, America. Paul was with Special Forces in Vietnam and Lana has been a missionary in Africa and the Middle East. Now they are both in Los Angeles dealing with their reaction to the events known as 9/11.
Wim Wenders has crafted a thoughtful exploration of the impact of that infamous day on two Americans who love their country but seek to defend it in conflicting ways. In a political year, Land of Plenty could connect with audiences interested in examining how fear and prejudice can affect individuals and society as a whole.
The setting is a Los Angeles rarely seen in movies, a part of the city that could be any place in the Third World, where people are so poor it is known as the hunger capital of America. Lana, played with sparkling intelligence by Michelle Williams, has returned from Tel Aviv to live and work at a mission house in downtown L.A. Her mother has died and she wants to connect with her Uncle Paul, who has been out of touch for many years.
Paul is played by character veteran John Diehl who richly justifies Wenders' decision to cast him by delivering a multi-layered portrayal of a loyal soldier blasted to bewilderment by events in Vietnam. Exposed to Agent Pink exfoliate during that conflict, Paul's increasing psychological wounds are brutally punctured by watching the fate of New York's twin towers.
Grizzled, tired and sometimes drunk, Paul has formed a one-man defense unit, driving around the city with surveillance equipment, recording images and commentary covering potential suspects who invariably look like his idea of Arabs. He has a pal, Jimmy (Richard Edson), who has a contact or two in the police department and is always willing to run suspicious items through the more extreme elements of the Internet.
Roaming the city at night, Paul spots a man in a turban carrying boxes of Borax. Jimmy cracks an evil joke that it would be pretty funny when they're looking for a "dirty bomb" if terrorists turned out to use a heavy-duty cleaner, but Paul doesn't see the humor in it.
When the homeless man with the Borax boxes is gunned down in his cardboard crib close to Lana's mission house, Paul happens to be there on surveillance. His tape of the shooting ends up on network television and soon Lana is helping find out who the man was. Uncle and niece team up to get to the bottom of the shooting but Paul's paranoia becomes ever more extreme and dangerous. It will put Lana's sincere spirituality and concern for the troubled ex-soldier to the test.
Wenders' eye for locations and richly evocative work by director of photography Franz Lustig and production designer Nathan Amondson combine to give the film a powerful sensory impact. The music score and tracks featuring Leonard Cohen add greatly to the piece. Wenders' screenplay with Michael Meredith turns the cliche of the shell-shocked veteran on its head. The sense of wonderment and desire for understanding that envelop the old soldier and the young disciple create a mood of profound optimism.
Credits:
Director: Wim Wenders
Screenplay: Michael Meredith, Wim Wenders
Story: Wim Wenders, Scott Derrickson
Producers: In-ah Lee, Samson Mucke
Gary Winick, Jake Abraham
Executive producers: Peter Schwartzkopff, Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss
Director of photography: Franz Lustig
Editor: Moritz Laube
Production designer: Nathan Amondson
Costume designer: Alexis Scott
Composers: Thom & Nackt (cq)
Cast:
Lana: Michelle Williams
Paul: John Diehl
Hassan: Shaun Taub
Henry: Wendell Pierce
Jimmy: Richard Edson
Sherman: Burt Young
Youssef: Bernard White.
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 118 mins...
Wim Wenders has crafted a thoughtful exploration of the impact of that infamous day on two Americans who love their country but seek to defend it in conflicting ways. In a political year, Land of Plenty could connect with audiences interested in examining how fear and prejudice can affect individuals and society as a whole.
The setting is a Los Angeles rarely seen in movies, a part of the city that could be any place in the Third World, where people are so poor it is known as the hunger capital of America. Lana, played with sparkling intelligence by Michelle Williams, has returned from Tel Aviv to live and work at a mission house in downtown L.A. Her mother has died and she wants to connect with her Uncle Paul, who has been out of touch for many years.
Paul is played by character veteran John Diehl who richly justifies Wenders' decision to cast him by delivering a multi-layered portrayal of a loyal soldier blasted to bewilderment by events in Vietnam. Exposed to Agent Pink exfoliate during that conflict, Paul's increasing psychological wounds are brutally punctured by watching the fate of New York's twin towers.
Grizzled, tired and sometimes drunk, Paul has formed a one-man defense unit, driving around the city with surveillance equipment, recording images and commentary covering potential suspects who invariably look like his idea of Arabs. He has a pal, Jimmy (Richard Edson), who has a contact or two in the police department and is always willing to run suspicious items through the more extreme elements of the Internet.
Roaming the city at night, Paul spots a man in a turban carrying boxes of Borax. Jimmy cracks an evil joke that it would be pretty funny when they're looking for a "dirty bomb" if terrorists turned out to use a heavy-duty cleaner, but Paul doesn't see the humor in it.
When the homeless man with the Borax boxes is gunned down in his cardboard crib close to Lana's mission house, Paul happens to be there on surveillance. His tape of the shooting ends up on network television and soon Lana is helping find out who the man was. Uncle and niece team up to get to the bottom of the shooting but Paul's paranoia becomes ever more extreme and dangerous. It will put Lana's sincere spirituality and concern for the troubled ex-soldier to the test.
Wenders' eye for locations and richly evocative work by director of photography Franz Lustig and production designer Nathan Amondson combine to give the film a powerful sensory impact. The music score and tracks featuring Leonard Cohen add greatly to the piece. Wenders' screenplay with Michael Meredith turns the cliche of the shell-shocked veteran on its head. The sense of wonderment and desire for understanding that envelop the old soldier and the young disciple create a mood of profound optimism.
Credits:
Director: Wim Wenders
Screenplay: Michael Meredith, Wim Wenders
Story: Wim Wenders, Scott Derrickson
Producers: In-ah Lee, Samson Mucke
Gary Winick, Jake Abraham
Executive producers: Peter Schwartzkopff, Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss
Director of photography: Franz Lustig
Editor: Moritz Laube
Production designer: Nathan Amondson
Costume designer: Alexis Scott
Composers: Thom & Nackt (cq)
Cast:
Lana: Michelle Williams
Paul: John Diehl
Hassan: Shaun Taub
Henry: Wendell Pierce
Jimmy: Richard Edson
Sherman: Burt Young
Youssef: Bernard White.
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 118 mins...
- 9/10/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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