Often compared with Charles Chaplin’s The Kid, Wenders’ fourth film (although he technically considers it his first fully realized feature since this is where he found the road movie genre), Alice in the Cities, follows German journalist Philip Winter (Wenders’ on-screen alter ego, played by Rüdiger Vogler) who wants to write a story about America but is unable to get anything more than a series of Polaroids before beginning his journey home. He reluctantly agrees to take little Alice (an adorably brilliant Yella Rottländer) with him, because her mother (Lisa Kreuzer)—whom he meets in New York on the day before his departure—has urgent business to take care of back in the city. After the mother fails to appear in Amsterdam as they agreed, Winter and Alice set out to try to find Alice’s grandmother. During the search, their initial mutual dislike gradually transforms into heartfelt affection. The first entry in Wenders’ unofficial road movie trilogy—which also includes Wrong Move and Kings of the Road—Alice in the Cities remains one of Wenders’ most touching and accomplished works.