Review of Wings of Desire (1987) by Jj M — 30 Jun 2011

'I believe in angels.'...so said ABBA, but Wenders is on a very different wavelength here. This is an epic of existentialism, a film that guages the very idea of heaven on earth (heaven is shot in beautiful b/w while the real world is in colour).

Unpatient viewers will find that for 2/3s of the film, the story barely raises beyond tedium. There's lots and lots of poetry and pondering and a young Nick Cave blares some typical abstract lyrics into a microphone.

But if you're patient, Wenders classic can be truly rewarding (evidently U2 thought so!). The premise seems to be based on the director's (and screenwriter's) affinity for the city of Berlin, their lament of it's past (documentary footage from WW2 is masterly utilised), their unobjective reflection of it's present and their anticipation of it's future (the fall of the wall).

The whole thing emanates with charm and optimism and the main performances reflect this, the stand-out being Peter Falk playing himself. Unfortunately Colombo is no more (he passed away this week) but you can treasure his presence in this.