Wings of Desire
Wings of Desire (German: Der Himmel über Berlin, pronounced [deːɐ̯ ˈhɪml̩ ˈʔyːbɐ bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ; lit. 'The Heaven/Sky over Berlin') is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of its human inhabitants, comforting the distressed. Even though the city is densely populated, many of the people are isolated or estranged from their loved ones. One of the angels, played by Bruno Ganz, falls in love with a beautiful, lonely trapeze artist, played by Solveig Dommartin. The angel chooses to become mortal so that he can experience human sensory pleasures, ranging from enjoying food to touching a loved one, and so that he can discover human love with the trapeze artist.
This article is about the 1987 film. For the Jennifer Rush album, see Wings of Desire (album). For the racehorse, see Wings of Desire (horse). For the band, see Wings of Desire (band).Wings of Desire
- Wim Wenders
- Peter Handke
- Richard Reitinger
- Wim Wenders
- Anatole Dauman
- Road Movies Filmproduktion
Argos Films
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Basis-Film-Verleih GmbH (West Germany)
Argos Films (France)
- 17 May 1987 (Cannes Film Festival)
- 29 October 1987 (West Germany[1])
127 minutes[2]
- West Germany
- France
- German
- English
- French
- Turkish
- Hebrew
- Spanish
Inspired by art depicting angels visible around West Berlin, at the time encircled by the Berlin Wall, Wenders and author Peter Handke conceived of the story and continued to develop the screenplay throughout the French and German co-production. The film was shot by Henri Alekan in both colour and a sepia-toned black-and-white, the latter being used to represent the world as seen by the angels. The cast includes Otto Sander, Curt Bois and Peter Falk.
For Wings of Desire, Wenders won awards for Best Director at both the Cannes Film Festival and European Film Awards. The film was a critical and financial success, and academics have interpreted it as a statement of the importance of cinema, libraries, the circus, or German unity, containing New Age, religious, secular or other themes.
It was followed by a sequel, Faraway, So Close!, released in 1993. City of Angels, a U.S. remake, was released in 1998. In 1990, numerous critics named Wings of Desire as one of the best films of the 1980s.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Der Himmel über Berlin had 922,718 admissions in Germany.[72] Under the title Les Ailes du désir, it had a further 1,079,432 admissions in France.[73]
The film finished its run in North America on 11 May 1989, having grossed $3.2 million,[4] or possibly nearly $4 million, a beneficial investment for Orion.[65] Critic James Monaco assessed the financial performance as above that of typical art films.[74] In 2000, Variety calculated that it was 48th in the top 50 highest-grossing foreign language films ever released in the U.S., and one of only three in German, along with Das Boot and Run Lola Run.[75]
Critical reception[edit]
Wings of Desire received widespread critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 95% based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, “Beyond ravishing, Wings of Desire is Wim Wenders' aching and heartbreaking exploration of how love makes us human.”[76] The film received "Two Thumbs Up" from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on Siskel & Ebert & The Movies, where Siskel credited Wenders for a story that "praises life as it is lived yet making sense of life's confusions".[77] In New York, David Denby hailed it as "extraordinary", and possibly "the ultimate German movie".[78] Desson Howe cited it for "a soaring vision that appeals to the senses and the spirit."[79] Janet Maslin, writing for The New York Times, called it "enchanting" in its concept, but "damagingly overloaded" in execution.[66] In Variety, David Stratton embraced the visuals, the performances and Knieper's score, adding the film also showcased Wenders' taste for rock music.[80] The Washington Post's Rita Kempley credited Wenders and Handke for crafting a "whimsical realm of myth and philosophical pretense, dense with imagery and sweetened by Ganz's performance".[81] Dissenting, Pauline Kael remarked, "It's enough to make moviegoers feel impotent".[82] According to online film resource They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?, Wings of Desire is the most acclaimed film of 1987.[83]