Howard Spence could have been somebody, and was -- specifically, a star of B westerns. These days, the boozy old cowboy is on location in Marlboro country, shooting a worse-than-usual tumbleweed epic, when he suddenly snaps. In a meltdown of an identity crisis, he goes AWOL from the set and heads for cover.

Wim Wenders Sam Shepard stars in "Don't Come Knocking." "Don't Come Knocking" Rating: R for language. Starring: Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Gabriel Mann. Director: Wim Wenders. Opening today at the Manor. "Don't Come Knocking" Web site

B rokeback Molehill? It's actually Montana. That's where Howard (Sam Shepard) encounters the mom (Eva Marie Saint) and fleeting girlfriend (Jessica Lange) he hasn't seen for 20 years -- as well as the son (Gabriel Mann) he never knew he had.

"Don't Come Knocking" is a curiously engrossing new entry -- a droll drama -- from director Wim Wenders, with a script co-written by the director and star. This voyage of existential discovery is a coming-of-old-age story about a monumentally selfish, hard-drinking womanizer who stumbles across the life he missed and tries to crash the party at its eleventh hour.

But the invited guests welcome him with closed arms. His mother is a polite iceberg. His would-have-been wife is a disillusioned waitress. His singer-son is full of violent rage. His footsteps are dogged by a bounty hunter from the movie's insurance company (Tim Roth) and a mysterious girl (Sarah Polley) who keeps stalking him and showing up with her mother's ashes.

Along the way, we are treated to superb cinematography, in Wenders' trademark sweeping-circular style, and uniformly fine performances from long-suffering Lange, grizzled Shepard, out-of-control Mann and angelic Polley. It's a particular pleasure to see Eva Marie Saint again. Her portrayal of the odd, unflappable mother is supporting-actress Oscar-worthy.

This is appropriately quirky, soulful fare, as we might expect from the quirky creators of the soulful "Paris, Texas." The characters and contrivances here are less subtle than those of the 1984 Wenders-Shepard collaboration. But there are some wonderfully humorous moments to leaven the proceedings, and the moral is tasty: Just because you "Come Knocking" doesn't necessarily mean anybody's going to open the door -- or be glad to see you if they do.