Wings of Desire (Der Himmel ueber Berlin) (1987)

Wings of Desire (Der Himmel ueber Berlin) (1987)

Director: Wim Wenders

German, English subs .srt file, sample file included

Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) is one of cinema’s loveliest city symphonies. Bruno Ganz is Damiel, an angel perched atop buildings high over Berlin who can hear the thoughts—fears, hopes, and dreams — of all the people living below. But when he falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, he is willing to give up his immortality to come back to earth to be with her. Made not long before the fall of the Berlin Wall, this stunning tapestry of sounds and images, shot in black and white and color by the legendary Henri Alekan, is movie poetry. And it forever made the name Wim Wenders synonymous with film art.

This highly original French/German fantasy film (fantasy if you don't believe in angels) stars Bruno Ganz and Otto Sanver as a pair of well-meaning angels. It is their celestial assignment to provide comfort for the troubled souls of Berlin -- a task at which they are profoundly ineffective. Both angels envy the living for being able to enjoy nature and creature comforts. When Ganz falls in love with beautiful circus aerialist Solveig Dommartin (who dresses in angel's wings and robes for her act), he is allowed to "go mortal". After a short orientation on earthly ways conducted by fellow fallen angel Peter Falk, Ganz heads off to find lasting happiness with his dream girl. Inspired by the poems of Rainer Maria Wilke (which are recited at length in the course of the film), Wings of Desire is one of the most enchanting of director Wim Wender's films. Keep an eye out for veteran actor Curt Bois (the pickpocket in Casablanca) as an elderly historian seeking out the true history of Berlin.

Visible only to those like them and to human children, Damiel and Cassiel are two angels, who have existed even before humankind. Along with several other angels, they currently wander around West Berlin, generally on their own, observing and preserving life, sometimes trying to provide comfort to the troubled, although those efforts are not always successful. Among those they are currently observing are: the cast and crew of a movie - a detective story set in WWII Nazi Germany - which include a sensitive and perceptive Peter Falk; an elderly man named Homer looking for eternal peace; and the troupe of a financially failing circus, which has closed early for the season because of those financial problems. One day, Damiel tells Cassiel that he wants to become human, to feel not only the sensory aspects of physical beings, but also emotional aspects. He embarks on this thought with the full realization that there is no turning back if he decides to do so.

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- Duration: 2h 2mn
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tags: film, German, 1987, Bruno Ganz, Wim Wenders