by Wim Wenders

In his 30-year career, Wim Wenders has made cinema history with films such as The American Friend (1976) and Wings Of Desire (1986). His 20th film, opening the 50th Berlin International Film Festival, is a departure from Wenders' previous oeuvre - not just a star-studded romantic thriller, The Million Dollar Hotel also crackles with dry humour.

Los Angeles, 2001 - rich heir Izzy Goldkiss (Tim Roth) falls to his death from the roof of the shabby Million Dollar Hotel. Suicide or murder? Investigating FBI agent Skinner(Mel Gibson)is faced with an array of off-kilter hotel guests and suspects.

Everyone has something to hide - naive Tom Tom (Jeremy Davies), sinister Geronimo (Jimmy Smits) or Dixie (Fargo's Peter Stormare), who thinks he's the fifth Beatle. Eventually, Skinner finds himself sucked into a vortex on the fringe of the American Dream.

Nicholas Klein's script (based upon an original story by Bono and Klein) cleverly lets Tom Tom, who commits suicide at the story's outset, narrate the film from the afterlife, setting the melancholy tone - for Tom Tom has died of a broken heart. His dream lover, beautiful prostitute Eloise (Milla Jovovich), wears her dark secret like an elegant cloak.

Wenders unfolds his magical cinematic puzzle with electrifyingly beautiful visuals (courtesy of cinematographer Phedon Papamichael), seemingly inspired by Edward Hopper's iconographic images of loneliness.

Almost incidentally, the film reaffirms the wisdom that nowadays, any faith in true love is sheer folly.