For Robby Müller 4/4/1940 – 7/3/2018

Oh, Robby!

It’s pretty much 50 years ago that we met each other. You were assistant to the legendary Dutch D.o.P. Gerard Vandenberg and I was still a film student. I had the good fortune to play a small part in the movie you were shooting in Munich: “Love and so forth”. I was very impressed by this super-cool guy who could pull focus with one hand and roll a cigarette in the other. Soon afterwards, we made our first short film together: “Alabama”. That was a long time ago…

Through your work, you pushed the boundaries of the craft and art of cinematography, both as operator and through your innovative lighting style as Director of Photography. Like no other, you were able to seize moods and to describe situations in your imagery that revealed more about the characters than long dialogues or dramaturgical structures ever could. You knew how to create a distinctive atmosphere for each and every film, in which the respective actors were, in the truest sense of the phrase, “in good hands”. For a handful of filmmakers, among whom I was one, you were their most important companion, like Hans W., Jim, Lars, Steve. And you were a role model for a whole generation of young directors of photography.

I miss you very much.

You are dearly missed by many.

Wim Wenders

Photo: Robby Müller photographed by Wim Wenders in 1973 (c) Wim Wenders Stiftung. Currently on display in the exhibition “Instant Stories: Wim Wenders’ Polaroids” at C/O Berlin until September 23, 2018.