Review of Wings of Desire (1987) by Bryan W — 04 Mar 2010

The Invisible Listeners.

Wings of Desire was Wim Wenders' most astonishing and ambitious film. A film about the guardian angels we believe in today, watching over the worn torn city of Berlin. This movie was set in the late 1980s, during the time the city was separated into East and West Berlin, by the infamous Berlin Wall.

Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are the two, almost "partner" angels, watching over everyone throughout a normal day in the life of a Berlin citizen. Wenders' approach with Damiel and Cassiel is very ambitious, having them dressed almost as if they were on their way to a funeral. These dark and ominous men dressed in long black top coats, with scarves, and long hair, depict a different kind of angel that no one would ever think of. They almost come off as business men, dressed for their workday. Listening in to everyone's thoughts, comparing notes in a car dealership showroom and sharing desires they both would love to "feel" if they were human. Gathering in the library in the city was almost a headquarters for all angels. It was as if the library was a place where the most open minded thoughts were constructed.

The angels in Wings of Desire not only came off as great listeners but also magically comforted people who were dealing with struggles. As simple as a hand on a shoulder or the touch on the head, changes the thoughts of many as if their stress just disappears. Roger Ebert says it best, "sometimes they descend to comfort an accident victim, or to put a hand on the shoulder of a young man considering suicide. They cannot directly change events (the young man does kill himself), but perhaps they can suggest the possibility of hope, the intuition that we are not completely alone.".

The plot of this film takes ages to understand, but does not leave you bored. Wim Wenders and Peter Handke, both writers of Wings of Desire, have Damiel fall in love, with a struggling trapeze artist Marion (Solveig Dommartin), in his longing to escape eternity. Only to be surprised by American film star Peter Falk, (who plays himself), by just simply saying he feels his presence, "I can't see ya, but I know your here", said Falk during one scene in Wings of Desire. To become human for Damiel, means to become whole, and one with the world. Damiel longs for the simple pleasures we take advantage of everyday, like the ability to taste coffee or smoke a cigarette or even both at the same time, even the ability to tell a lie. Even the desire to feel pain, to feel anger, anxiety, all the pains we hate to feel.

Wings of Desire may come off as difficult to understand or too much of a chore to watch, because of the various languages, but I viewed it more as refreshing and different. It made me question my thoughts on a daily basis. I've often questioned myself: What was that random itch on the top of my head, or the random itch on my shoulder? Is there an angel listening in on my thoughts? Are we living among once eternal angels?