Lightning Over Water -

While it has its detractors, the film remains a unique tribute by the Wim Wenders Stiftung (Foundation) and a "moving and sincere" exploration of a difficult subject . It asks us: can art capture the truth of a life at its end, or does the camera only show us the disintegration?.

In the spring of 1979, two titans of cinema met to document an ending. Nicholas Ray, the legendary director behind Rebel Without a Cause , was dying of cancer. His friend and admirer, German filmmaker Wim Wenders, arrived in New York with a crew to help Ray complete one final project. The result, Lightning Over Water , is a "ghastly," beautiful, and deeply uncomfortable meditation on what it means to face death through a lens. Lightning Over Water

The film isn't a traditional documentary. It blurs the lines between reality and fiction, shifting between handsomely shot 35mm footage and rougher analogue video. As Ray’s physical and mental state deteriorates, the movie becomes a meta-narrative about the ordeal of filmmaking itself. While it has its detractors, the film remains