The films of Wim Wenders are the prettiest things I’ve ever seen on screen. Through romance, adventure and mystery, this renowned director of New German Cinema shows the dark, beautiful and lost feelings of being a loner. From road trips to the United States, to a dreamy walk through divided Berlin and fairy tales of triumphs, love and murder, Wenders knows how to strike a cord with wanderers trying to find their place in the world.

Bringing one-of-a-kind cinema to TIFF Bell Lightbox, On The Road: The Films of Wim Wenders runs until March 6 and showcases his most celebrated films of the era. To kick it off, we’re highlighting our top picks to get you off the couch and into the theatres for a historical tribute to pretty cinema.

PARIS, TEXAS (1984)
When: Saturday, February 6 at 5:00 PM

You’ve dreamed of taking a road trip through the United States since you first read On The Road by Jack Kerouac in Grade 9. If this statement is true, then you’re destined to watch this 1984 classic about an amnesiac who wakes up in the desert, four years after he was reported missing. The movie follows actor Harry Dean Stanton and his quest to reconnect with his little boy and long-lost wife (shown above in this spectacular fuchsia mohair sweater).

NOTEBOOK ON CITIES AND CLOTHES (1989)
When: Tuesday, February 16 at 6:30 PM

Consider this a movie diary; an intimate look at the life of Yohji Yamamoto, otherwise known as the Prince of conceptual clothing. Spotlighting the creative rituals of an influential fashion icon, audiences get a behind-the-scenes look at the Japanese designer and his quest to understand fashion, identity, and life in the city.

WINGS OF DESIRE (1987)
When: Sunday, February 21 at 5:30 PM

I fell in love with Berlin when I was 21; a city I’ve since longed to return to after I walked for three hours around the Spree River in September. All the more reason I’ll be standing first in line at TIFF to see this poetic fable, a romantic film about two angels who wander the city, eavesdropping and comforting strangers in distress. Feel like a resident of west Berlin in this beautiful fantasy film that plays with life, death and immortality.

PINA (2011)
When: Sunday, March 6 at 1:00 PM

There are very few movies I want to watch in 3D, and this is one of them. Following dancer Pina Bausch and her opera ballet, Tanztheater Wuppertal, Wenders captures the intoxicating energy of contemporary dance. Interesting fact: During production, Wenders cancelled the film after Pina Bausch unexpectedly died. If it weren’t for the convincing of Tanztheater Wuppertal, the movie would have never been completed.