Heaven-sent cinema

Wings of Desire, a German film directed by Wim Wenders, written by Wenders and Peter Handke, and released in 1987, is renowned for its poetic and philosophical explorations of existence and the human experience. The narrative centers on two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, played by Bruno Ganz and Otto Sander, respectively. These celestial beings drift through Berlin, quietly observing and providing solace to its residents. Damiel, however, becomes increasingly intrigued by the human experience, particularly after meeting Peter Falk (playing himself) and falling in love with Marion, a solitary trapeze artist portrayed by Solveig Dommartin. This growing fascination leads Damiel to abandon his immortality in favor of becoming human to fully experience life.

Click here to listen to a recording of our CineVerse group discussion of Wings of Desire, conducted last week.

The film is distinguished by its unique visual style, created by cinematographer Henri Alekan, which uses a mix of black-and-white and color cinematography to separate the viewpoints of, respectively, angels and humans. Wings of Desire serves as a time capsule visually showcasing West Berlin in the melancholy years immediately prior to the fall of communism and the reunification of Germany. The city itself is depicted as a character in the picture, a location with a rich sociocultural and historical legacy, divided by the Cold War yet brimming with countless personal stories and dreams.

The filmmakers establish fairly easy-to-follow rules for this universe: There are apparently angels everywhere there are human beings; the angels’ POV is monochromatic; these sometimes wingless seraphim can only observe or perhaps inspire optimism in the subjects they watch—they can’t alter lives or events; only children and previous angels can see these heavenly beings; and angels can choose mortality if they desire, in which case life becomes chromatic.

However, Wenders’ movie employs a meditative, esoteric, and lyrical narrative approach, lacking a conventional plot and primarily abandoning spoken dialogue in favor of verbalized thoughts and mental monologues. These private thoughts are spoken offscreen and expressed as stream-of-consciousness ruminations, wishes, doubts, laments, and hopes. The words we hear many of these smaller characters speak internally are sometimes easy to parse and understand, while other lines are deeply philosophical thoughts and poetically phrased observations for which we the viewer have no context or background.

This is a work that relies on mood, tone, emotional atmosphere, and the historically weighted geography of Germany to tell its story. It’s a film replete with deeper meanings that requires extra patience and a rejection of rationality. Consequently, Wings of Desire can be a more difficult cinematic text to decipher or analyze for some audiences. Per Roger Ebert: “Wings of Desire” doesn’t release its tension in a smooth plot payoff. It creates a mood of sadness and isolation, of yearning, of the transience of earthly things. If the human being is the only animal that knows it lives in time, the movie is about that knowledge…The film is like music or a landscape: It clears a space in my mind, and in that space I can consider questions. Some of them are asked in the film: ‘Why am I me and why not you? Why am I here and why not there? When did time begin and where does space end?’”

Interestingly, while it can be called a spiritual film, this is not a religious text that espouses any particular religion or faith; in fact, God isn’t even mentioned.

Prominent themes include the nature of existence and what it means to be human. Wings of Desire delves deeply into existential themes and the unique perks of being alive in a corporeal body, underscored by Damiel's desire to engage in the sensory and emotional aspects of life.

Connection and alienation are also deeply explored. This film highlights the loneliness felt by both angels and humans, evident in Marion's life as a circus performer and Damiel's detachment from human life. Yet, Damiel can make connections with others—whether seen or unseen—which motivates him to want to become human.

Wings of Desire is, perhaps above all, a study of transcendence and wholeness. Damiel converts to the mortal world and bonds with Marion; the two join together as one and feel completeness as a result. Their personal experiences and separate emotional journeys across the landscape of Berlin symbolize the yearning that the divided German people felt at the time the film was made, when the city and the country were torn in two by the Cold War; just as Damiel and Marion desire unification, Germans longed for reunification as a free single nation and culture. Damiel and his black-and-white existence personify the craving East Germans felt, who, like Damiel, could only dream of the joys of living life in color, to its fullest, but without a voice or ability to affect change. Marion embodies West Germans: autonomous, admired, and ambitious yet feeling incomplete and lonesome for the company of others (East Germans) who share her passion for life, love, and happiness. Perhaps this is why the film ends with the words, “To be continued,” because Wenders and company were hopeful that German reunification would happen; it did within two to three years.

Additionally, the filmmakers examine the significance of world cinema and the extent to which art can help us transcend our troubles. Consider the closing title, which reads: “Dedicated to all the former angels, but especially to Yasujiro, François and Andrej”; these three names refer to the late filmmakers Yasujirō Ozu, François Truffaut, and Andrei Tarkovsky, who greatly inspired Wenders. Slant Magazine reviewers Bill Weber and Ed Gonzalez wrote: “The grand theme of Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders’ fantasy of angels in Berlin before the end of the Cold War, is storytelling in all its forms as a coping mechanism of the human race.”

Similar works

• The American remake City of Angels
• Its sequel Faraway, So Close!
• Movies and narratives featuring prominent angel or spiritual characters, including Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Horn Blows at Midnight, It’s a Wonderful Life, A Matter of Life and Death, Heaven Can Wait, Defending Your Life, Meet Joe Black, Michael, and Angels in America
• The Adjustment Bureau
• Arthouse films in which the main character interacts with numerous other characters and we hear their thoughts, including 8½
• The third season of Twin Peaks, every episode of which ends with a visit to a club where an alternative music artist performs
• Blue, another film hoping for the reunification of Europe

Other films by Wim Wenders

• Paris, Texas
• Until the End of the World
• Faraway, So Close!
• Buena Vista Social Club
• Pina
• The Salt of the Earth
• Perfect Days