A
goalkeeper is sent off during a game for dissent. He spends the night with a cinema cashier, whom he afterwards kills. Although a type of
detective film, it is more slow moving and contemplative than other films of the
genre. It explores the monotony of the murderer's existence and, like many of Wenders' films, the overwhelming cultural influence of the United States in
post-war West Germany.
Origin of the title Late in the film, the goalkeeper and a traveling salesman attend a football game, and witness a penalty kick. The goalkeeper describes what it is like to face a penalty: should he dive to one side, and if he does will the kicker aim for the other? It is a psychological confrontation in which each tries to outfox the other. In parallel with this, the goalkeeper, rather than go on the run, has returned to his home town and is living in plain sight. He doesn't know if the police are looking for him in particular, and the police are not necessarily looking for someone who isn't trying to hide.
Restoration In 2012 the
Wim Wenders Foundation financed the restoration of the film which had been unavailable for decades. == See also ==