The first time I watched "Lisbon Story" I was disappointed and rather annoyed at what seemed a pretentious and self-indulgent experiment.

Then several months later, I watched it again, and was captivated by it, enjoyed it thoroughly, and found it to be a good-hearted, affectionate salute to motion pictures and by extension to art in general. Though the film's humor frequently borders on being downright corny, I couldn't help enjoying even that aspect because of the obvious good will with which it was presented. It feels refreshing to have a film-maker work so hard to amuse the audience! That in itself is a token of respect.

Wenders has made here a film that's slippery, puzzling, and that eludes the mind's grasp at every turn, yet in the end delivers a powerful and even joyful message. It takes a certain amount of courage to send a positive message to an audience these days--or even in 1994, when the film was released. I applaud Mr. Wenders and I applaud this film. I'm very glad I thought to watch it again--I will definitely see it again in future, too.

The sound engineer Phillip Winter (Rüdiger Vogler) receives a postcard from Lisbon from his friend and director Friedrich Monroe (Patrick Bauchau) asking for help to finish a movie. Phillip drives his old car until the capital of Portugal and he finds the address of Fritz; however his friend is absent. Sooner Phillip meets the band Madredeus and he falls in love for the singer Teresa Salgueiro and becomes fascinated by the city. He decides to stay at Fritz's house while he wanders through the streets to record the sounds of Lisbon. When Phillip meets Fritz by chance on the street, he convinces the director to finish his movie.

"Lisbon Story" is a pleasant and delightful feature, with a magnificent tour though the capital of Portugal. The beginning is original and very funny, with Philip traveling with his old car through many European countries and having troubles with his car. When the angelical face and voice of Teresa Salgueiro appears with Madredeus, it seems that the viewer is in heaven, in a perfect combination of image and sound. Unfortunately the story is too short, and consequently the movie is too long and should be shorter. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Céu de Lisboa" ("The Sky of Lisbon")

The director Friedrich Monroe has trouble with finishing a silent b&w movie about Lisbon. He calls his friend, the sound engineer Phillip Winter, for help. As Winter arrives Lisbon weeks later, Monroe is disappeared but has left the unfinished film.

Wim Wenders, with three Portuguese film-makers, had been invited by the City of Lisbon to make a documentary about the city, as part of their programme as the European City of Culture in 1994. The result was the fictional "Lisbon Story", which either excited them or angered them.

As far as documentaries go, this is not one of them. At all. It is not even a particularly good showcase, as it could have been filmed just about anywhere. But it is an amusing Wenders tale, with some humorous moments. Not terribly funny, but just a bit odd and quirky. Especially the shoeshine guy. The part that was probably most interesting was when the kids learned how radio sound effects were achieved.