Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)****
After working in USA and after winning the Golden Palm in 1984. with "Paris, Texas" Wenders decided to make a movie in his native Germany. Result was more than a brilliant work of Art, very unique and highly poetic modern masterpiece Wings of Desire (original title is Der Himmel über Berlin).
It is following two angels Damiel (brilliantly played by Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) wandering through the streets of modern day Berlin and helping its citizens. One day Damiel, aware of his detachment from the material world and in love with a mortal girl, decides to sacrifice his immortality.
This film is a testimony to the little things we (humans) take for granted like a touch of a close friend or having a cup of coffee in a cold day. It explores various forms of divisions (isolation, alienation) in a modern society (Heaven-Earth, Man-Woman, East Germany-West Germany; Berlin Wall was still on in 1987).
Beauty of Wenders' visual poetry is beyond explanation. Very few films have this possibility to take the viewer into hypnosis thanks to the skillful mixture of striking cinematography, evocative sounds and deliberate pace. This film is capable to produce the unique felling you won't soon forget. It has my vote for the best cinematography ever in motion pictures (by then 78-year-old Henri Alekan!)
Overall, Wings of Desire is a movie like no other lyrical, haunting, poetic. It's a beautiful and moving journey into the spiritual, emotional and political dualism. Most important of all, it reminds us how valuable is to be a human.
Remade in USA in 1998 as City of Angels. Sequel: Faraway, So Close!
After working in USA and after winning the Golden Palm in 1984. with "Paris, Texas" Wenders decided to make a movie in his native Germany. Result was more than a brilliant work of Art, very unique and highly poetic modern masterpiece Wings of Desire (original title is Der Himmel über Berlin).
It is following two angels Damiel (brilliantly played by Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) wandering through the streets of modern day Berlin and helping its citizens. One day Damiel, aware of his detachment from the material world and in love with a mortal girl, decides to sacrifice his immortality.
This film is a testimony to the little things we (humans) take for granted like a touch of a close friend or having a cup of coffee in a cold day. It explores various forms of divisions (isolation, alienation) in a modern society (Heaven-Earth, Man-Woman, East Germany-West Germany; Berlin Wall was still on in 1987).
Beauty of Wenders' visual poetry is beyond explanation. Very few films have this possibility to take the viewer into hypnosis thanks to the skillful mixture of striking cinematography, evocative sounds and deliberate pace. This film is capable to produce the unique felling you won't soon forget. It has my vote for the best cinematography ever in motion pictures (by then 78-year-old Henri Alekan!)
Overall, Wings of Desire is a movie like no other lyrical, haunting, poetic. It's a beautiful and moving journey into the spiritual, emotional and political dualism. Most important of all, it reminds us how valuable is to be a human.
Remade in USA in 1998 as City of Angels. Sequel: Faraway, So Close!