Review of Wings of Desire (1987) by Eric F — 11 Nov 2009

Guardian angels are no strangers to film, but I don't know if they've ever been depicted quite like they are in Wim Wender's "Wings of Desire". They're humble looking men dressed all in black - curious observers longing to be human. They have the power of suggestion and can elicit hope into some of the wary, but in other cases their inability to interfere with the human world is a tremendous burden.

Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels in the divided city of Berlin. They have, as we find out, existed since the beginning of time - before humans inhabited the Earth. Their purpose is left ambiguous. They simply eavesdrop on fantasies and thoughts, the power to listen to an entire city's deepest fears. Their prescence seems to be felt by some, but they cannot touch or manipulate the world in any way.

Their world is black-and-white. They have the transcendent power of absolute freedom, but that freedom is also restricting. Damiel wonders what it would feel like to take off his shoes and wiggle his toes about. The simple pleasures are what make us human. Being an angel, a being incapable of such simple pleasures, is a world completely void of color.

The film is shot by the legendary Henri Alekan, who photographed Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast". The camera is always in motion, a sweeping effect that not only echoes the movement of angels, but entrances us in the film's intoxicating beauty. It's effect on me was perhaps only parallel to the lush visuals of Resnais' "Last Year at Marienbad" - it's a movie with the power to completely envelope you in it's world.

When Damiel decides to shed his wings for the human world, the film looks like another universe entirely. The writing, however, a purposely meandering and relentlessly curious sort of uncensored thought process, weds the segments together beautifully.

"Wings of Desire" is, for it's visual beauty alone, one of the best films of it's decade. It's unlike anything you've seen before - a meditative, surreal dance through a war torn city, the angels as our tour guides.