Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin)

Again, in the words of the Empire!

The contrast of a grim West Berlin setting and the magical images of overcoat-clad angels among us is what lingers longest in the mind after watching this Wim Wenders effort - that, and maybe Bruno Ganz' beatific smile. As the angel who falls in love with a trapeze artist and starts to long for mortality, Ganz is a literally otherworldly observer, but it's only when he abandons his wings that the film leaps into colour and life, like a reverse Wizard of Oz. And any film that casts Peter Falk as a formerly divine being gets our vote.


Director: Wim Wenders
Writers: Wim Wenders, Peter Handke
Stars: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin and Otto Sander


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