Review of Wings of Desire (1987) by Ivan D — 24 Jun 2010

Beautiful film with ordinary cinematic shots turned into visually observant and reflective sequences, hovering over the still devastated streets of Berlin, bringing with it an uncanny, ethereal beauty.

Call it a recreational area for the angels. Many films dealing with fantastical elements about god's missionaries on earth treats the angels' job as one of wonder and amazement. But Wim Wenders created a fantasy picture not inclined to adapt to the genre's stereotypical elements, and instead focused on the angels' longing for something other than things running in the lines of the words "eternity" and forever".

Yes, they hear everyone's subconscious(and oh what a terrific poet people in Berlin are in their minds!), they comfort them, leans to their shoulders and pats their back. But they want more, they want to immerse into the world they look down upon, especially that of Damiel(played by Bruno Ganz with startling sense of both knowing and naivety).

I have read once in the website "Den of Geek" the cliches of foreign cinema, and as in denial as I was, "Wings of Desire" actually have lots to answer for in the list. In Wenders' earlier "Paris, Texas", every cinephiles surely knew about Harry Dean Stanton's evocative "I knew these people" monologue.

And in this film, the subtle exchange between Damiel and Marion echoes that sequence, again serving as a flowing image of Wenders' love for emotional eloquence.