Review of Wings of Desire (1987) by Liam R — 08 Oct 2010

For me, Wim Wenders used to be-first and foremost-that director who's the namesake of a certain ex-Yugoslavian detergent. That is, until I saw this film. Now, everytime I think of him(that is, of Wim), washing dishes comes second in the line of associations, after "Wings of Desire", the beautiful and poetic 1987 film which shows Berlin in all its derelict post-WWII-allure. The story is too slow and the very romantic plot gets totally diluted in the long development-by the time Bruno Ganz and Solveig Dommartin come together in the final scenes, you don't really care for them.

Peter Handke's lines, in collaboration with the spectacular photography, create an immensely introspective narrative with a lot of memorable moments. The bird's eye-panoramic views of Berlin in B/W are disarmingly beautiful, just as the scenes from the circus with Solveig Dommartin suspended in the air. The story could have had done without Nick Cave's little performance, but I guess in 1987 the divided Berlin was the coolest hub of Europe since all the other major city felt so boringly normal, so Cave just had to be in a film about Berlin. So boring and predictable.

I should know, since I live in Mostar, which feels like a Tale of Two Cities every day of the year since the 1990's wars. We don't have the Wall like Berlin. Ours is a mental one, and that's much harder to tear down then the one shown in Wenders' poetic masterpiece. And Mostar is still waiting for its own Wim Wenders. Or Sally Bowles, for that matter. But we're probably not big or cool enough to provoke a major film director to devote a whole film to the sufferings of this beautiful city.

Wenders deserved the Palme d' Or in Cannes, since his film embodies all the qualities you'd think those people are looking for. It deserves an another prize for being the perfect antipode to those moronic over-commercialized Hollywood films of today. Like, say, the sequel with Nicholas Cage in the role of Ganz.