Every Thing Will Be Fine

Wim Wenders has dedicated himself to the making of documentaries lately, having helmed "The Salt of the Earth" in 2014 (a worthy successor to his electrifying "Buena Vista Social Club," from 1999), but it's nice to see him get back behind the camera for his first feature film since 2008's "Palermo Shooting."

Wenders has a taste for open spaces ("Until the End of the World," 1990) but he also ventures adroitly into the interior depths of the human soul. He might be best known in this respect for "Wings of Desire" (1987), but with "Every Thing Will Be Fine" Wenders makes the case once again that he's a filmmaker with vision as well as a great visual stylist.

James Franco stars as Tomas Eldan, an emotionally closed off writer whose work, while publishable, lacks spark. A tragic accident that results in the death of a child sends Tomas' marriage to Sara (Rachel McAdams) into a tailspin, but it also enables Tomas to reach new creative heights, transforming his work and career. Years after the accident, he forges a connection with Kate (Charlotte Gainsbourg), the mother of the child who died in the accident; more years pass, more novels see print, and Tomas ends up married to Ann (Marie-Jos�e Croze) and stepfather to Ann's daughter, Mina (Julia Sarah Stone).

Still, even as his novels excite critical acclaim, there are places in Tomas that remain inaccessible -- until Christopher (Robert Naylor), the surviving brother of the child who was killed, reaches out to him.

Wenders works from a script by Bj�rn Olaf Johannessen, calmly and patiently sculpting a story about art, tragedy, and the ways in which lives can become entwined -- not with burning intensity, but with long-term, arc-changing effects all the same.

The film was released in theaters as a 3D production; the cinematography retains an intriguing sense of space and dimension even in the 2D home release on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray edition also offers a few special features, but they are a little dry. The "Behind the Scenes" featurette consists of footage taken as filming happened, and while some moments are interesting, there are others that simply show the actors doing their takes without any corresponding audio. It gets old quickly.

A raft of interviews with the cast and with Wenders is also included, and this proves more interesting - even though the Q&A format feels repetitious and the locations are odd. (Naylor seems to be chatting with his interlocutor in his bedroom.) The questions range from "What is the story of 'Every Thing Will Be Fine?' " to "How do you see your character" to "What is it like working with Wim Wenders / James Franco?" Sadly, Franco himself is not a participant in these interviews.

No matter. Wenders remains a powerful, acutely sensitive director. Everything about this movie really is fine, including the cinematography by Beno�t Debie and the haunting score by Alexandre Desplat.

"Every Thing Will Be Fine"
Blu-ray
$29.98
http://www.mpihomevideo.com/products/every-thing-will-be-fine-1