Land of Plenty

Land of Plenty is the sort of movie film critics like to refer to as an interesting failure, though there’s no denying the fact that it’s a marked improvement over some of director Wim Wenders’ more recent efforts (ie The End of Violence). The movie stars Michelle Williams as Lana, a young girl who returns home to the United States after several years of living in Israel. Her only relative in the country is Paul (John Diehl), though he proves difficult to track down (a Gulf War veteran, he spends his days spying on possible terrorists). As an examination of the post-9/11 landscape, Land of Plenty is undoubtedly a success. The film effectively captures the sense of paranoia and shortsightedness that seems to have plagued the United States since that horrific event. And though the movie has some genuinely interesting ideas – including frank conversations on homelessness and 9/11 – Wenders spends the bulk of the story’s midsection focusing on Paul’s investigation of a potential terrorist plot, a choice that eventually proves to be the film’s undoing. Still, the performances are incredibly strong – Williams effectively steps out of the Dawson’s Creek mold, while character actor Diehl does a nice job of portraying Paul’s weariness – and Wenders’ decision to shoot the movie using digital cameras isn’t nearly as distracting as it could’ve been (eg Collateral). Ultimately, though, Land of Plenty just doesn’t work – though you’ve got to admire Wenders for trying something different.

** out of ****