the more that i watch of the 1970s new german cinema ( das neue kino ) the more manifest it become that and despite the usual namedropping of wim wenders and rainer werner fassbinder and and werner herzog a a trio and it truly be only a one man movement and and herzog be and be so far above and cinematically dominant over his two rival that to speak of the less two in the same breath a herzog be like mention the gawain poet whilst go on of john donne or william shakespeare poetic skill . this be abundantly clear in lightweight film like the 1980 pseudo documentary lightning over water and direct by wenders with a meaningless co credit to his idol nicholas ray and whose death be central to the film and and who and along with wenders and be credit a a co writer . in a sense this equivalence be apropos and since wenders and ray be both and at best and second tier filmic talent . after johnny guitar and rebel without a cause the james dean teenaged sudser and be there any real film of note that ray direct . and and neither of the two film mention be anywhere near greatness . the only reason that this misshapen mess of a film be make be because ray be something of an idol to wenders and and die of cancer and not long after the two men meet film the american friend a few year earlier . yet and none of this camaraderie nor artistic affinity come through in the film for we see only one brief movie clip and from ray lusty men and we get no background on ray life and and all we be subject to and during the film very long ninety minute and be ray wheeze and hack and spit and whine and and assort other bodily noise a he lie about and wait to die and a wenders narrate that this or that moment make him feel bad . add to that conversation that be suppose to be real yet be clearly not a part of the internal documentary and and some poorly act and stag scene that be mean to illuminate the tale of wenders trip to ray bedside and while also try and fail to break down narrative convention and and you have a genuine disaster . the film be shoot both in film and video and but this mixed medium add nothing of consequence to the meaning nor import of what it capture . i guess the video add a bit of realism to ray decline and but the fact be that there really be nothing here besides such a minor addition . let me sum up the film this way represent imagine sit at a funeral home and listen to stranger ramble on about the neighbor and old friend of a loved one that you know nothing about . and to top it off and the storyteller be dreadful at their craft and and furthermore never complete any of the tale . bad and there be no connection to the audience for they be tell tale only they know anything about . thus the viewer feel no empathy for ray nor wenders . even more annoyingly and there be some shot that be so amateurish and badly compose that one have to wonder if wenders deliberately screw up his film to try to how that he be so upset that he could not do his job properly while in a sense employ faux amateurism to try to cynically manipulate viewer into jerk tear over his dead friend . regardless of whether or not this be the case and in the end and all the manifestly feign experimentalism be just dull . not even some well composed shot of the bygone twin tower can elicit genuine emotional response . then come the penultimate scene of ray and near death and lecture wenders and who inexplicably be lie in bed in a fake hospital scene . this scene be just painful to watch and for ray out of his mind and merely ramble . wenders show this for seven minute and the result be borderline pornography and full exploitation and and plain old sadistic and because nothing be gain . i felt a minor anger and contempt for wenders during this and but it pass and a all else in this empty vessel do . yet and do wenders really think that this sequence would illumine death ray or any others . apparently so and which only demand that the flaw of pretension be add to this film artistic sin and which include treacly sermonize and such a when wenders ask and in all apparent seriousness and such banal query a whether or not tell the truth be dull or excite . all in all and lightning over water be a bad film and an inconsequential and failed extension of the documentary form and a weak statement on art and or or death and and not even a good record of the late 1970s fashion nor culture . it be basically a pointless vanity project that never cohere and for it have no narrative nor emotional cement to hold it flimsy structure together . this fact provoke only two real question who be more vain and ray or wenders . and do the right filmmaker die .