Wings of Desire (1987)
October 23rd, 2006
In this German film by Wim Wenders, set in Berlin, there are angels among us. They love and care for us because that is their calling, but some of them also want to become us.
The angels move among us unseen, stopping to give comfort now and then, and sometimes just stopping to listen. They hear everything, all the time, a constant murmur of human thoughts. They like going to the public library where they can listen in on our ideas. When we are dying they have the ability to remind us of the things we have enjoyed in life, such as colours, a certain food, or the weight of an apple, and this comforts us in our going; but other than that, they take no part in our affairs.
Sometimes it happens that an angel becomes consumed with a desire to be one of us. This is a very serious choice between the eternal spirit, shown in black and white in this film, and the temporal body, portrayed in colour. A former angel, played by the American actor Peter Falk (Columbo) as himself, is on the scene and prepared to help with encouragement and a few bucks until you get on your feet.
This is a beautiful film. I don’t know if we can really feel that we understand the angels, but we often see events from their point of view, which seems at once compassionate and disinterested; and we get a sense of the vast expanse of time in which they have been among us.
The angel Damiel has begun to yearn to feel the weight of an apple. He has also become interested in the French acrobat Marion whose circus is going out of business, whose career on the trapeze is probably over, and who sometimes wears a shabby pair of wings in her act.
The idea that everyone - apes, robots, wooden boys, even angels - wants to become a human being is pervasive in literature and film. On reflection I think this must be a sign of our arrogance as a species, that we think everything in the universe wants to become us. Even so, this is the second time I’ve seen this film and I liked it even more this time. I find it deep and profoundly moving.
There is an American remake called City of Angels, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. I like that film too. It is reviewed here.
Click here for Wings of Desire at the official Wim Wenders site.
From the screenplay for Wings of Desire, these are the words spoken by Damiel to the dying man, as pictured above:
Invocation of the World
As I emerged from the valley out of
the fog into the sunshine…
The fire at the edge of the pasture…
The potatoes in the ashes…
The boat-house far off at the lake…
The Southern Cross,
The Far East,
The High North,
The Wild West, The
Great Bear Lake!
The Isles of Tristan de Cunha.
The Mississippi Delta.
Stromboli.
The old houses of Charlottenburg.
Albert Camus.
The morning light.
The child’s eyes.
Swimming at the waterfall…
The first raindrop spots.
The sun.
Bread and wine.
Skipping.
Easter.
The veins of leaves.
The waving grass.
The colors of the stones.
The pebbles on the creek bed.
The white table cloth in the open air.
The dream of the house in the house.
The person asleep in the next room.
Sunday’s peacefulness.
The horizon.
The light from the room…
In the garden.
The night plane.
Biking with no hands.
The beautiful stranger.
My father.
My mother.
My wife.
My child.
Updated Nov.5, 2006:
I just took a look at some extras that are on the DVD. Surprisingly, another ending was shot in which both angels become human beings. Here’s Cassiel having his first drink of beer.
This version includes a pie fight. Too bad it was never made!
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