Wings of Desire
1987 ‘Der Himmel über Berlin’ Directed by Wim Wenders
Synopsis
Wings of Desire is Wim Wender’s artistically beautiful film about the lonely and immortal life of angels during a post-war Berlin. It’s a poetic journey from the perspective of the angels of which one falls in love with a living woman and wants to become a mortal human thus giving up his heavenly life. Filmed in black and white and with a feeling of celebrating life.
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Film #14, Country #14 (Germany) in the 30 Countries in 30 Days Challenge
Listed on From Heaven to Hell: A Comprehensive Listing of Movies Dealing with the After-Life
[in German] "Tell me of the men, women, and children who will look for me - me, their storyteller, their bard, their choirmaster - because they need me more than anything in the world."
[in French] "We have embarked." - Homer, the aged poet"Wings of Desire" is director Wim Wenders' hauntingly picturesque glorification of the simple pleasures of life, and the inherent beauty in everyday occurrences.
The narrative is seen through the eyes of two angels who watch over the streets of Berlin as they listen to the thoughts of the…
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So this is one of the best films i have ever seen.
I'm not gonna tell you about a girl.
You know when you start watching a film, immediately you fall in love with it, and know you're going to love the next few hours? Wings of Desire is incredible. One of my favorite things about Malick films is the inflected poetic dialogue, some hate it, to me it is a mesmerizing device that connects you to a character like no other. Once this started, i was hooked. The sound is immaculate, it sounds like Set Fire To Flames and creates a whole other layer of atmosphere. Speaking of sound, onto Nick Cave. My friend loves Nick Cave, adores him,… -
I really wasn't expecting such a beautiful film. 'Wings of Desire' has that Malickian kind of stream-of-consciousness, inner-monologue poetry running through it, but this dialogue is presented in such an earnest way that it's impossible to not find it incredibly earnest and sincere. There's a lot in 'Wings of Desire' that could be wantonly dismissed as 'artsy' by a lazy viewer, like the aforementioned dialogue, the way in which colour is used and the fantastical albeit slight plot, but every decision has clearly been made for a good reason, invoking classic cinematic imagery and proposing themes and questions to the viewer.
The most striking visual aspect of the film is the use and absence of colour. What's refreshing is Wenders'…
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This is one of the most gorgeous films I've ever seen. Photographed by Henri Alekan, responsible for such beautiful films as Roman Holiday and Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, its visuals have a distinctive, transportive quality I've only rarely experienced before. It doesn't hurt that Wim Wenders has masterful control of his material, taking us to Berlin as seen through the eyes of two angels. We witness everything they witness: those who are suicidal, lovelorn, happy, nostalgic, hopeful, depressed. Wings of Desire is an incredibly humane film, celebrating human experience in all of its glory and misery. Eventually, one of the angels decides he wants to become human, and while I think the movie loses just a teensy bit of…
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Completely blown away, even as I suspect if it was completely in English language I might have rejected it, since it's overflowing with poetic elements which are not usually my thing. As it is though, the German (and French) language reflects an appropriate romantic intensity as I read along, Peter Falk serves as a nice accent to everything, and it can be dark and awkward along the way. Overall hits my sweet spot when it comes to artsy fartsy filmmaking, and Wenders really has his pacing dead-on, and knows how to gracefully move his camera around beautiful scenery.
All this and some weird club dancing that makes Elaine Benes' moves look superb.
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Perfect.
Peter Falk is the god damned man.
The key to the film is how well Wenders & Handke draw the two angels. So much of the film is simply them observing people in the city, listening to their thoughts and desires, this kind of cinematic poem. Which means they easily, easily could have simply been devices. The acting and writing manages to make us care for them and think about them. So that when we watch one of them falling in love, we feel it and fall in love too, and when we watch his journey to becoming human and experiencing the real physical world, we are so happy for him and are experiencing those things ourselves again. Things we would never really think of, like the pain from getting cut, the colors in graffiti, the beauty of a cup of coffee on a cold day.
And did I mention that Peter Falk is the man?
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This is one of the most gorgeous films I've ever seen. Photographed by Henri Alekan, responsible for such beautiful films as Roman Holiday and Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, its visuals have a distinctive, transportive quality I've only rarely experienced before. It doesn't hurt that Wim Wenders has masterful control of his material, taking us to Berlin as seen through the eyes of two angels. We witness everything they witness: those who are suicidal, lovelorn, happy, nostalgic, hopeful, depressed. Wings of Desire is an incredibly humane film, celebrating human experience in all of its glory and misery. Eventually, one of the angels decides he wants to become human, and while I think the movie loses just a teensy bit of…
-
Film #14, Country #14 (Germany) in the 30 Countries in 30 Days Challenge
Listed on From Heaven to Hell: A Comprehensive Listing of Movies Dealing with the After-Life
[in German] "Tell me of the men, women, and children who will look for me - me, their storyteller, their bard, their choirmaster - because they need me more than anything in the world."
[in French] "We have embarked." - Homer, the aged poet"Wings of Desire" is director Wim Wenders' hauntingly picturesque glorification of the simple pleasures of life, and the inherent beauty in everyday occurrences.
The narrative is seen through the eyes of two angels who watch over the streets of Berlin as they listen to the thoughts of the…
-
One of the most outstanding films ever as it is a very touching and loving story about an angel who falls for a trapeze artist in Berlin as he and his friends also meet Peter Falk in one of Wim Wenders' great triumphs.
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This is probably the most romantic film I've ever seen. Beautiful. It also reminded me of 'Enter the Void' albeit a much more poetic and easy experience.
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I really wasn't expecting such a beautiful film. 'Wings of Desire' has that Malickian kind of stream-of-consciousness, inner-monologue poetry running through it, but this dialogue is presented in such an earnest way that it's impossible to not find it incredibly earnest and sincere. There's a lot in 'Wings of Desire' that could be wantonly dismissed as 'artsy' by a lazy viewer, like the aforementioned dialogue, the way in which colour is used and the fantastical albeit slight plot, but every decision has clearly been made for a good reason, invoking classic cinematic imagery and proposing themes and questions to the viewer.
The most striking visual aspect of the film is the use and absence of colour. What's refreshing is Wenders'…
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One of the most intelligent, beautiful films I have ever seen. It has as much impact now as it did on my first viewing.
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Ambitious interesting and thoughtful.Found it a very relaxing film.Some of the scenes were fantastic.Overall a great concept film
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I could have put the entire, back-and-forth monologue about being human between Cassiel and Damiel, while sitting in that convertible, observes as life passes by, as the review itself because it's so incredibly well-written but I'm not going to do that of course. But let me start by saying...truly one of a kind film. Can't really grasp or fully understand the ideas in this film just yet, but this is one of those film that really rewards the viewer more and more upon further re-watching in the future. So...much of it was just random ramblings just few minutes after the film ends.
The angels, Damiel and Cassiel (what a great name for angels) only observes. The heartfelt sorrow. The innocence.…