JLRVancouver A beautiful, melancholy examination of human existence, Wim Wenders "Wings of Desire" opens with Damiel, an angel (Bruno Ganz), looking down on the city of Berlin and listening to the thoughts of the people in the city below. Damiel, and fellow angel Cassiel (Otto Sander), circulate unseen through the city, vicariously experiencing life in order to, as Cassiel says, "assemble, testify, preserve". Paradoxically, one of the overwhelming feelings they encounter as they move through the teeming city is loneliness and isolation. Much of the film is a stark black and white study of 1980's Berlin, a city divided by the Wall, and there are numerous scenes around the derelict Potsdamer Platz as Cassiel walks alongside of elderly poet Homer (Curt Bois) who is searching for the vibrant city that he remembers. While experiencing the joy of children at a small circus, Damiel finds himself drawn to Marion (Solveig Dommartin), a desperately lonely trapeze artist, and ultimately has to decide whether to renounce his immortality in order to be with her. The leisurely paced film is surreal and mesmerising at times, with beautiful scenes at the circus (Solveig Dommartin's aerialist scenes are excellent), around the Potsdamer Platz, and in the Hans Scharoun's Berlin State Library, where the angels congregate to listen to the thoughts of the patrons. A strikingly original work of art, "Wings of Desire" is one of the great German films to come out of the cold-war era. "City of Angels", a much less acclaimed American adaptation with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan was released in 1998.

K_A For years I've resisted watching Wings of Desire again, afraid that it would spoil the memory and be a disappointment. But watching it now, almost 30 years later, it still feels like one of the most beautiful and haunting movies ever made.It was a stroke of genius to cast Bruno Ganz as an angel, with his aging boxer's face. The angel smiles at a child, and we can't help smiling with him.There are many unforgettable scenes in there. The two angels sharing reports on ordinary people doing ordinary things. The suicide who jumps off a building, while the angel cries "nein!". The lonely trapeze artist proclaiming her love for life. Pretty much every scene is magic. Even the silly ones.I don't believe in angels, but I do believe in this film. It's about kindness and love and the chaotic minds of people. It once made me realize that German is a language of poets, not of goose-stepping thugs.

jacklyn_lo Wings of DesireI picked up this movie because City of Angels is inspired by it.What I like the most: a general idea of spiritual entities around human beings; the name of the movie. What I dislike: pointless angels hanging around without any particular goal or idea.The Wings of Desire might have been an enjoyable movie for the 80's, but it doesn't look that great anymore. The general dynamics of the movie is pretty slow, with over extended scenes and angels who seem to have nothing to do. Of course, then there is something to do in the sinful human world and… one of them falls! The end of the plot is quite disgusting – a pensioner is picking up a woman 35-years younger than him. He doesn't even have a single word to tell her - just an action.in my opinion, the lightening and camera-work are artistically done and I add a credit for that. I have to admit that the remake, City of Angels, is developed much further as a spiritual awakening movie. But BIG thanks to W of D for innovation, which helped to create the remake!

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Der Himmel über Berlin" is probably my favorite Wim Wenders movie. It also helped that Bruno Ganz is one of my favorite actors. And so is Peter Falk. Really enjoyed his many Colombo references as I am a great fan of the show. This movie is a thing of beauty, never pretentious and never drags during its roughly 2 hours of runtime. Awards shows all over the planet, including the BAFTAs agreed and Wenders won a Palme d'Or in Cannes for directing it. I really liked how the world was black and white for him when he was an angel and in color when he was a human. Some of the quotes in this film get mentioned several times, by different characters. That's not a problem at all though, as the approach and backgrounds are truly interesting when each of the characters say these quotes. For example I liked the part said by Ganz' character a lot when he talks about "the child who was a child" and he is that child in this metaphor as he was basically just born as a human being.Another thing this film is worth a watch for are the many contemporary references, such as the Berlin Wall, the Nick Cave concert or just the many known places in Berlin in general. It's especially interesting for people who live (or have lived) in this city. I am not sure if this is my favorite Bruno Ganz performance as he has many great turns and here the script is also a highlight. Otto Sander I was never a great fan of. Maybe that is why I did not like the sequel (after the Fall of the Berlin Wall) as much as this one, but he gives a decent performance here. Solveig Dommartin (who died far too young) is also great as a trapeze artist. I liked all the ways in which they could hear the people's thoughts and the scream of shock when one character commits suicide. That's the most tragic scene of the film perhaps.There are just so many details which make this movie as good as it is and I could write a whole novel about these. But I won't, you just have to experience it yourself. One early example would be how the central character stands atop of a church and looks like a statue from below. The people watching this scene are wowed, but they don't see Damiel, which we don't know yet at this point. They are simply stunned by the beautiful church. If you know Rammstein's song "Engel" this is maybe the poetic beautiful film version of how the central character does not want to be an angel. I have not seen the US remake, so I cannot say if this is better or worse. It has to be extremely good though to top Wenders' work here. Highly recommended, although this is certainly not a movie for everyone I guess.