Lately, I’ve been going through something of a crash course in Wim Wenders. Until very recently, I hadn’t seen any of his films, but I’ve been gradually learning more about him and his work – partially due to a few odd coincidences.

I should probably start with the first Wenders film I saw: his much-celebrated Wings of Desire. I was glad to discover that all of the praise I had heard and read about the film was completely justified, as I was completely won over by its beauty and messages about time, life and love – plus, for someone who loves city films, it was a real gem.

Around that time, I was woken up one morning by my clock radio, which played U2’s “Walk On.” Not being too much of a U2 fan, I nonetheless found myself liking the song, and was struck by the parallels between its lyrics and the premise of Wenders’ other big hit, Paris, Texas. Now, I haven’t seen Paris, Texas, but I’ve been pondering the intriguing story elements I have heard about it – largely triggered by Criterion’s announcement for an upcoming special edition DVD, but undeniably fuelled by the song about a wanderer’s fate to leave everything behind and walk on (a role that I’m imagining Harry Dean Stanton’s Travis ably fulfills).

So, there I am with this U2 song and Wim Wenders on the brain. One day at the bookstore where I work, I find a book that provides an entry on each and every U2 song. I flip it open to a completely random page, and what song should I find? “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” from Zooropa, which U2 wrote specifically for Wenders’ follow-up to Wings of Desire – something I had absolutely no clue about! I read the page, learning how Bono looked to Paris, Texas and the writings of Sam Shepard for inspiration for The Joshua Tree, and how Wenders, while driving around America in preparation for the film, had only one cassette in his car: U2’s Boy.

It turned out to be quite a curious and complex web of links I had found. I later learned of another U2 song based on a Wenders film (“Until the End of the World”), and found the music video for “Stay (Faraway, So Close!),” which was co-directed by Wenders and features many of the recognizable elements I knew from Wings of Desire (I have yet to see Faraway, So Close! and am not in too big of a rush to do so, though I am curious). Recently, I picked up what seems to be the high point of the U2-Wenders collaboration: Wenders’ film The Million Dollar Hotel, which Bono helped write. Generally, the film has something of a bad reputation, but I dug deeper and found a veritable outpouring of positive comments defending the film as terribly underrated and misunderstood. Indeed, the main trailer tries to sell it as a generic crime thriller, but I’m more than willing to bet that Wenders has a lot more up his sleeve.

I’ll watch the film for myself and share my opinions on it soon.

Tucked under the seat is a casual three-part interview that Chris Wiseman conducted with Wenders himself last May in, of all places, my home city Toronto. Enjoy…