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Wim Wenders explains how 3D engages your brain

Mon 29 May 2023 10:57, UK

Wim Wenders, one of the leading figures of the New German Cinema movement, has created several masterpieces that are revered by film fans all over the world. Known for his seminal films like Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire, Wenders’ vision of cinema has influenced countless filmmakers who have tried to follow in his footsteps.

This year, Wenders returned to Cannes with an interesting 3D documentary about the pioneering German artist Anselm Kiefer. Oscillating between the past and the present in an interesting manner, Anselm tries to delve into the complex process of artistic creation by trying to challenge the boundaries of the cinematic medium within the 3D format.

In a new interview with Variety, Wenders explained that many modern movies do not require active thinking on the part of the audience, but 3D manages to engage the brain. He said: “You could just as well be brain-dead in some movies because the amount of brain activity is minimal. In 3D, however, your whole brain is aflame.”

The director added: “Parts of your brain are working to establish the space – which is something you’re doing yourself: you get two separate images on the screen, and your brain is putting them together, just like you do in life with your two eyes. So, your brain is enormously active, but other parts of your brain are active as well – you are emotionally more involved as you are more ‘there’.”

“In theatres, we get used to the fact that everything is there on the screen, and we’re here, in front of it, and we’re not there,” Wenders insisted. “In 3D, you are there. And all of a sudden, a lot of your instincts are active furiously that are not active if you’re watching Fast & Furious 10. Well, in those movies, there might be more adrenaline going on, of course, but your brain is less ‘involved’.”

While talking about the choice of 3D for this project, the director commented: “3D was the ideal language for this because his world is so vast, and so intense, I wanted to put the audience right in front of it. A two-dimensional screen cannot handle it. On 3D, you see several times as much as on a regular screen, you see more than you’ve ever seen in cinema before.”

Wenders continued: “Simply because of the depth of its layers, you see a quadruple of what you normally see, an insane amount of information. That is a great advantage, of course, but 3D also shows every mistake, they are enlarged as well. You see more, you have to take in more, and your brain is working in overtime.”

Watch the trailer below.