Review of Wings of Desire (1987) by Spencer S — 02 Oct 2013

Dealing with the interconnectedness of the human existence as well as the ethereal quality of dreams and the world of angels, Wim Wenders provides his magnum opus with "Wings of Desire." The film has been lauded for its grasp of different foreign languages, veering from the macabre, and showing the romanticism of the relationship between Damiel and Marion.

While a later adaptation dealt primarily with this relationship, "Wings of Desire," at its core, is a film about the experience of being human and not taking it for granted. The world is not shown as being exciting, but instead candid and often beatific.

The angels' world is superimposed over the humans', but theirs is a dull gray and white landscape. The humans' is in color and they interact with one another, but in the angels' they can hear the people's thoughts.

Oftentimes these thoughts are philosophical and heavy-handed, exactly what a person would think if they were alone. These thoughts are oftentimes sprawling narratives about their lives, their strife and worries about the future.

The angels whisper into their ears, picking up their moods by implanting thoughts. One of these angels is named Damiel, who floats around a huge library where other angels nest, and also around the massive city of Berlin.

He and his friend Cassiel remark on the virtues of being alive, and all the small things that we never notice in our daily lives. While at a circus Damiel sees a trapeze performer named Marion and follows her around, listening to her dense inner thoughts.

She gives these long soliloquies about the state of the world and how she fits into it, which are charming and introspective. Between the amazing visuals, the bleak and yet interesting soliloquies from the people that the angels are listening to, the amazing cinematography, the great performance from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the bleak Cold War landscape of Berlin, this film is unparalleled in beauty or simplicity.

Peter Falk is also a great addition in a strange cameo where he plays himself, with a fictitious background as a fallen angel. Knowing someone is listening to your thoughts may seem terrifying, but when it comes to these guardians and their empathy towards humans, even in their times of need, it's an angelic effort all around.