WINGS OF DESIRE (DER HIMMEL UBER BERLIN)

Richard at caravana de recuerdos is hosting the foreign film challenge for the Orbis terrarium challenge so I had a look through my DVD’S i ve about 50 films in various languages and decide on my all time favourite film .

WINGS OF DESIRE –

the film is set in berlin and was directed by the German director Wim Wenders his films are always great viewing  probably best known for Pari Texas ,This is considered his masterpiece .the film follows two angels ,Daniel played by Bruno Ganz best known for Downfall now where he played Hitlers last days and Cassiel played by Otto Sander who also appear in Das Boot as a U Boat Captain .The films opens with a flash through different people in Berlin and there thoughts these include Peter Falk on a plane ,the angels listen to these thoughts and wander the city .Then we met daniel she him listen to some kids who can see him ,then he meets Cassiel and they discuss a=what they ve seen a woman closing an umbrella and getting wet ,a man jumping of a building ,as they talk Daniel laments the fact they only see and don’t feel even simple things like print on the paper coming of on his hands ,he says he wants to live not view ,Cassiel disagrees they part ,meanwhile a trapeze artist Marion is practising on the trapeze for what turns out is her last performance as the circus has to close for the winter at this point Daniel enters and is taken by this beautiful young woman played by the late Solveig Domartin ,he follows her into her caravan where she plays her records Nick Caves from here to eternity album the track the carny about a circus performer that has run of and we hear her thoughts about how sad it is the circus is moving on .then he go’s to the main Berlin Library where a lot of angels are listen to people at this point we met the other main character Curt Bois he plays Homer an aged poet who is looking back on his life and what has happen to his beloved berlin ,also Peter Falk is making a world war two film and sketching people he sense Cassiel and Daniel and tries to talk to them .At this point Daniel decides to become human he wakes by the Berlin wall with a suit of armour and he sets of to find Marion in the end catching her at a Nick Cave concert where there is an obvious spark between them .

the filming is mainly in black and white and only in colour when the angels aren’t there ,claire Denis was assistant director who directed Chocolat after this .the city is beautifully shot and becomes a character in its own right ,the dialogue is beautiful the script was a joint project between Wender and the German novelist Peter handke .it uses Rainer Maria Rilke poetry as a spring-board with a recurring theme of Child hood via a song ,it shows how poetic german can be .I love the innocence of the film it is a simple love story of a couple and a city . there was a poor american remake of the film .