Review of Wings of Desire (1987) by Rebecca B — 05 Oct 2014

As Peter Falk says in Wings of Desire, "There's so many good things," and undoubtedly, one of the good things about this movie is feeling alive. This 1987 film stars Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander, Peter Falk, and Solveg Dommartin. Wings of Desire was directed by Wim Wenders and is critically acclaimed by several media outlets. In the beginning, the camera pans over post-World War II Berlin in its entirety. The Berlin Wall stands out and provides background scenery for many of the scenes. The whole concept of the film is that angels watch over and comfort human beings during the most difficult moments of their days. Adults generally cannot see the angels, but some children can; others much like Peter Falk's character can feel their presence and will speak directly to them. Wings of Desire is considered the classic film that it is because of its use of dialogue, portrayal of perspective, and its underlying message.

Dialogue in a movie such as Wings of Desire is crucial. An important aspect of the film is the angels listening to the thoughts of humans and the dialogue provides a poetic outlet for the actors. The dialogue relays the entire concept of the movie which is mostly told through a conversation between the two main angels: Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander). Despite the fact that this movie is considered "fantasy," the dialogue genuinely displays the reality of the movie whether it is when the audience hears a suicidal man's thoughts or the loving thoughts that Damiel feels for his human love, Marion (played by Solveg Dommartin). The dialogue of this film does an outstanding job of telling the story and perspectives of its characters.

Perspective can be shown in various ways, but Wings of Desire utilizes unique methods that many films lack. An interesting way that perspective was shown in this film was through languages. Most characters such as Damiel, Cassiel, and nearly all of the background voices spoke German, but Marion spoke French and Peter Falk spoke English. The usage of several languages is important to the characters and their plot lines. The constantly changing perspectives/voices speaking also gives the audience exposure to many different cultures and languages. The best way that the film shows perspective is through its divine cinematography. The cinematographer of the film did a magnificent job of showing most scenes in black and white, but very few and very significant scenes in color. The black and white scenes are meant to show the perspective of the angels. Some claim that Wenders' goal was to show the angels' point of view in black and white because it is like they are watching a black and white movie; they cannot change what is in front of them, but they can watch and hope for the best. This is an allusion to the idea that the angels are exactly like the audience. Though the cinematography has hidden gems, the most important underlying meanings are in the message of Wings of Desire.

Clearly, Wings of Desire is a complex film with many underlying meanings and messages. The main message that audiences are supposed to take from this movie is to be grateful. It is widely believed that Wim Wenders' goal with this film was to make people think and contemplate. Damiel desires humanity for so long while so many humans tend to take their humanity for granted. Wings of Desire really reminds its audience of how amazing it is to be alive. Humanity is a gift and most people live their lives and forget the fact that it could be taken from them at any moment.

This film exemplifies not only its intended time period adequately, but also a concept that may have been considered risky for a movie during its release. Personally, this film was a joy to witness because it kept audiences' attention with its imagery. Wings of Desire portrays all of the good things in life including beautiful words through its dialogue, various perspectives through characters and cinematography, and an important life lesson.