Blue in the Face

Through their view of the city on the Hudson, the big names of the American author's movie have shaped the picture of New York that generations of viewers worldwide hold stored in their memories. Their stories, however, have also become a true school of urban sensibility. In their films, the anonymity of the big city is not a threat but a promise of good fortune – the prospect of random encounters, the possibility of alternative life-paths.

Blue in the Face

D: Wayne Wang and Paul Auster, USA 1995, 83 min, German subtitles

This film, which Wayne Wang and Paul Auster made on the heels of "Smoke", their successful debut film as a director duo, is a declaration of love to Brooklyn. Harvey Keitel plays the charming owner of a cigar shop where Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin and Lou Reed stop in. The whole film is a unique sequence of offbeat characters and subtle humour.

Supporting film: Just Ralph

D: Clifton Watson , USA 2005, 11 min, OV