Himmel über Berlin / Wings of Desire (Wenders, 1987)

Himmel über Berlin / Wings of Desire (Wenders, 1987) - #TSPDT 250

An invisible angel roams the streets of Berlin when he realizes that his spiritual existence is not the fulfillment of his destiny.

Bruno Ganz's subdued performance takes a bit to getting used to, but his appearance on the big screen is so mesmerizing that it was my joy to watch him for the full length of the movie. He barely speaks and when he does it often sounds like he is reciting from heavy prose or dense poetry.

The film in itself doesn't try to hide its schematic and for today's tastes the switch between b/w and color might even seem rather crude. I really loved the black and white renderings especially when the dancer was sitting in her trailer - beautifully lit photography at its best.

The dreamlike narrative that manifests very slowly from the uncountable narratives the two angels encounter as they roam the streets of Berlin is just as unreal as the conclusion of the story: love doesn't meet out of coincidence, lovers are drawn together by fate, a force more powerful than all the eons that the angels have waited for the arrival of man.

The woman's speech at the end of the film is one of the most beautiful I have heard in a German film. Maybe I'm too romantic or maybe I fell for the french accent.

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