Review of Wings of Desire (1987) by Victoria B — 06 Oct 2014

The viewer would assume the overall plot would be very predictable if the story was simply an angel who falls in love with a mortal, but that is not the case in this film. The director of this film wanted it to go more in depth. In order to do tha,t the movie has over ninety plus minutes of black and white commentary of the thoughts of everyday people. Through this, adds emphasis to what the angel's go through and observe, this portion of the movie is extremely dragged out. Most of the commentary is irrelevant to the plot of the movie, and it confuses the viewer as to what the story is. Even when one of the main character in the movie, the trapeze artist, appears the film continues to go off subject. This makes the viewer wonder what their main focus should be on.

As for the acting in the movie, this should be rated as decent. Decent in the sense that the parts in this film are relatively easy to portray. Majority of the characters in the film, are simply standard by passer, which can be played by anyone. As for the two main angels, their parts were played well enough, but even a majority of their character is emotionless.

The overall all look of the angels being dark and mysterious was chosen well in the appearance of the two men. The look for the main female actress was also matched well with the character being portrayed. She gives off a look of youth and innocence and when speaking her dialogue she does well in seducing the audience with her eyes and voice. The combination of her looks and the look of Damiel, is an awkward combination. His appearance being much older and more mature than hers, makes them an awkward pair for the audience to connect to.

The setting choice for the movie, works for and against it. Berlin being chosen as the city the story takes place, makes you wonder right off if the movie is based on what's going on at the time. Though that aspect adds more interest in the thoughts and emotions of the everyday people the angels observe, it only add to the confusion on what your focus should be on. If the German title for the movie "The Skies of Heaven over Berlin", would have been kept, the viewer would immediately think the movie had everything to do with what tragedy was taking place in Berlin at the time and would draw attention away from the actual plot of the movie.

Another major point of confusion in the movie is the question of who's, what? When the Damiel transitions into a human, we find out that the English actor Peter Fauc is also a former angel himself. We know this because he can sense their presence when the angels are around him. With that information, who's to say the main female actress is not former angel herself? There is no evidence in the film that says she not, but there is evidence that says she could be. For instance when she knew she was looking for a man but did not know who, and when she spoke alone in the movie it was as if she knows someone was listening. Same way Peter Fauc did when he sensed the presence of an angel around him. Also, towards the very end of the movie she knew exactly what man to go to in the bar, and her closing speech was implying she knew who he was all along and that they were going to meet? This is all evidence that supports that she could have also been a former angel herself, which leaves the viewer with even more confusion as to the characterization in the movie.

The overall rating for the movie Wings of Desire would be a three out of five stars. The acting and overall story of the movie is not a complete lost cause. The main downfall for the films is its pacing and pointless scenes, which leads to much confusion and loss of interest throughout the very beginning on. The story line has great potential, therefore this movie would do great if remade the right way.

The viewer would assume the overall plot would be very predictable if the story was simply an angel who falls in love with a mortal, but that is not the case in this film. The director of this film wanted it to go more in depth. In order to do tha,t the movie has over ninety plus minutes of black and white commentary of the thoughts of everyday people. Through this, adds emphasis to what the angel's go through and observe, this portion of the movie is extremely dragged out. Most of the commentary is irrelevant to the plot of the movie, and it confuses the viewer as to what the story is. Even when one of the main character in the movie, the trapeze artist, appears the film continues to go off subject. This makes the viewer wonder what their main focus should be on.

As for the acting in the movie, this should be rated as decent. Decent in the sense that the parts in this film are relatively easy to portray. Majority of the characters in the film, are simply standard by passer, which can be played by anyone. As for the two main angels, their parts were played well enough, but even a majority of their character is emotionless.

The overall all look of the angels being dark and mysterious was chosen well in the appearance of the two men. The look for the main female actress was also matched well with the character being portrayed. She gives off a look of youth and innocence and when speaking her dialogue she does well in seducing the audience with her eyes and voice. The combination of her looks and the look of Damiel, is an awkward combination. His appearance being much older and more mature than hers, makes them an awkward pair for the audience to connect to.

The setting choice for the movie, works for and against it. Berlin being chosen as the city the story takes place, makes you wonder right off if the movie is based on what's going on at the time. Though that aspect adds more interest in the thoughts and emotions of the everyday people the angels observe, it only add to the confusion on what your focus should be on. If the German title for the movie "The Skies of Heaven over Berlin", would have been kept, the viewer would immediately think the movie had everything to do with what tragedy was taking place in Berlin at the time and would draw attention away from the actual plot of the movie.

Another major point of confusion in the movie is the question of who's, what? When the Damiel transitions into a human, we find out that the English actor Peter Fauc is also a former angel himself. We know this because he can sense their presence when the angels are around him. With that information, who's to say the main female actress is not former angel herself? There is no evidence in the film that says she not, but there is evidence that says she could be. For instance when she knew she was looking for a man but did not know who, and when she spoke alone in the movie it was as if she knows someone was listening. Same way Peter Fauc did when he sensed the presence of an angel around him. Also, towards the very end of the movie she knew exactly what man to go to in the bar, and her closing speech was implying she knew who he was all along and that they were going to meet? This is all evidence that supports that she could have also been a former angel herself, which leaves the viewer with even more confusion as to the characterization in the movie.

The overall rating for the movie Wings of Desire would be a three out of five stars. The acting and overall story of the movie is not a complete lost cause. The main downfall for the films is its pacing and pointless scenes, which leads to much.

Confusion and loss of interest throughout the very beginning on. The story line has great potential, therefore this movie would do great if remade the right way.