Land of Plenty is a 2004 drama film directed by Wim Wenders starring Michelle Williams and John Diehl. The title of the film comes from the song "The Land of Plenty" from the albumTen New Songs, written by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson, which was used in the movie. The film was Gloria Stuart's last screen appearance before her death in 2010.
Plot
The movie presents a view of post-9/11 United States as seen through the eyes of Lana, an American girl who has lived in Africa and the Middle East for years with her missionary parents. She is returning from a long trip to the West Bank. In Los Angeles, she works at a homeless mission and looks up her only living relative in the US, her late mother's brother, Paul. He is a paranoid Vietnam veteran who drives around filming and spying on Arabs and people with Arab features. Lana, in contrast, leans toward anti-war convictions and has been changed by her experiences abroad, so feels outside American culture. Having first-hand knowledge of the Middle East and Africa, she sees similarities between the slums of Los Angeles and those of the Third World. After she and Paul see the murder of a young Pakistani outside the mission, they take his body to his family. Their road trip offers Paul a different view of Muslim home life. Over the course of the film, Paul and Lana learn more about each other.
The film was shot using the digital and hand-held Panasonic AG-DVX100 camera, so the production time was cut to a minimum. In the United States, the film was distributed by IFC Films.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 62% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times said, "Hampered by an ending that overreaches needlessly, the film is nevertheless worthy and unmistakably the effort of an enduringly distinctive and important filmmaker." Leslie Felperin of Variety praised Michelle Williams' performance, saying, "Engaging perfs keep its motor running, with Williams in particular charming and convincing as a politically engaged humanist."
