In Alice in the Cities—the first part of Wim Wenders’s Road Trilogy—German journalist Philip Winter (Rüdiger Vogler) wants to write a story about the United States. Philip shoots a series of Polaroids in New York before disappointedly beginning his journey back home, empty-handed. He reluctantly agrees to take little Alice (Yella Rottländer) with him at the request of her distracted mother (Lisa Kreuzer), but the mother then fails to appear in Amsterdam. As Philip and Alice search together for Alice's grandmother, the initial dislike between the pair transforms into affection.

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