Rent Wings of Desire (1987)

Journey's End. - Wings of Desire review by Steve

Wim Wender's unique fantasy is an incredibly compassionate, lyrical eulogy to the sensual and spiritual experience of being. This is hardcore arthouse with very little narrative but considerable poetic reflection on what it is to be alive

This all takes place in an expressionist b&w Berlin, still in ruins from WWII and divided between east and west. Bruno Gantz plays one of the eternal angels who watch over the skyline of a city of wretched dreamers, bringing invisible solace.

He trades in his immortality to feel what it is to be human, to experience gravity and contact and various sensations we are rarely even aware of... and to return the romantic longing of a lonely, melancholy acrobat (Solveig Dommartin).

Then bizarrely, share cigarettes and coffee with Peter Falk, and see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds live! It's lengthy and leisurely and some may say pretentious. But for many others, Wender's masterpiece is a peak in the poetic reach of cinema.

Extraordinary film; a sensitive if existential reflection on what it means to be alive - Wings of Desire review by tm

mostly in black and white, in German French and English with a tiny cast of mesmerising and memorable characters drifting in and out of focus of an ethereal observe who himself desperately wants to be involved.
what is it to be vulnerable?
what is it to really allow yourself to feel?
is the joy worth the pain?
do we dare?
these are the questions asked by one of the most moving films I have ever seen.
if you like sitting on a deserted beach, staring out to sea, alone and quietly, then this is the film for you.
warning:
I suspect you do have to be in the mood for this film which, on a rushed day or squeezed in between events on a cold night, might seem a challenge to ones patience.

Wenders Beautiful Adaptation of Postwar Berlin - Wings of Desire review by CP Customer

I've got to 2nd Steves review on this because it is such a wonderful film, not just for German cinema but for all cinema, going into this I'd seen Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders so I had an idea of his brilliance when adapting characters to a big story and creating lots of unique atmosphere, cinematography etc. but this just blew me away! The film starts in black and white as Ganz and Sander playing 2 Angels hovering over a postwar Berlin which looks to be a mixture of many things, certain things to come to mind from this like the bleakness of Berlin and the brilliant dialogue particulary with Ganz accompanying an old man who describes a world forgotten. We are entranced through many memorable shots of postwar Berlin and many civilian thoughts which could probably reflect thoughts of people the viewer knows, accompanied as usual by Wenders by a brilliant soundtrack that perfectly reflects the feeling of the film, the emotion of living here but yet the beauty of it all. Ganzs angel desperately wants to break free from being an angel and feel what the people are feeling having experienced most of it 3rd person, but not 1st person. It'd probably be pointless ruining any more of the film for newcomers but watch it and be amazed by one of cinemas many unique cinematic experiences.