This should have gotten the Jury award for biggest turkey of the year. People think that if the actors talk in some sort of mumbo jumbo they must be expressing something prophetic... in this case pathetic. Oh it's a product of LA all right, self absorbed and searching for the meaning of life in a place which has already determined that the meaning of life is the fast lane. The protagonist not only gets off the fast lane but falls off the track all together. The acting by some of the principals is bad. The acting of some of the supporting cast is laughable. The director must have been high on life or pot for this is really one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Given material that has merit, the director has produced a few fine works... this is far from one. I doubt if most people who actually paid money to see it lasted to the end. Why bother? I got it in the remainder bin of Comcast... those free movies they allow you to see. They should pay people to watch stuff like this.

Despite some very fine performances, the whole milieu of this doesn't ring true. As a parable of a sort, it could be acceptable, especially if the setting was a European country, but as set in the US, it is flawed.Wender's image of the US, while the big players in the film industry seem fairly on target, isn't altogether natural. The portrayals of different races is either too stereotypical to be realistic or overly simplistic. It's possible that this is intended as part of the commentary on the how violence can be controlled with the use of violence by the state, accompanied by the loss of privacy and certain liberties. As such, it is still a flaw.Quite believable is Henry Silva as the patriarch of a Hispanic working class family, not believable is his overly meek manner, as is the case with all the others in this group.Still, with the flaws, I'd recommend it for viewing for having a rather thought-provoking premise.

Oh my gaaaawwd, what a stinker! Rented this. On paper it looks good - good cast, director, intriguing sounding premise. Started watching, and waited for the film to develop.And waitedAnd waitedAnd then the credits rolled, with nobody having said or done anything of any import whatsoever. I have seen plenty of poor films, but everybody involved in this one should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. I'm surprised none of the actors torched the celluloid before it could reach a screen.

This movie fascinated me to the degree that I watched it twice and recommended it to several friends. While I agree with some of the comments of the person who didn't care for the movie, overall I enjoyed it, mostly because of good acting, its music and the "what's going to happen next" atmosphere set by the film . Granted, the twists and turns of the unusual and unlikely plot took some figuring out. It was almost like a David Lynch film, only not so bleak.I especially enjoyed the sound track.