Wings of Desire Movie Review 1988

An ethereal, haunting modern fable about angels Damiel (Ganz) and Cassiel (Sander), who observe human life in and above the broken existence of Berlin. Their attention is particularly focused on Homer (Bois), an elderly poet, American actor Peter Falk (playing himself), and a lovely French trapeze performer named marion (Dommartin). But the more Damiel observes, the more he longs to experience desire--emotional and physical--as humans do. A moving, unequivocable masterpiece, with as many beautiful things to say about spiritual need as about the schizophrenic emptiness of contemporary Germany; Wenders' magnum opus. German with subtitles, and with black-and-white sequences.

Distribution

Movies Unlimited, 3015 Darnell Rd., Philadelphia, PA 19154, Phone: (215)637-4444, Toll-free: 800-668-4344, Fax: (215)637-2350, Email: movies@moviesunlimited.com, URL: http://www.moviesunlimited.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 130 minutes.
Originally from German.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Romantic Drama, Fantasy, Germany, Angels, The Meaning of Life, B/W & Color Combos, Berlin

Screenplay

Wim Wenders, Peter Handke

Cast

Bruno Ganz, Peter Falk, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois

Cinematography

Henri Alekan

Director

Wim Wenders

Music

Jurgen Knieper

Producer

Wim Wenders, Anatole Dauman

Awards

Ind. Spirit 1989: Foreign Film; L.A. Film Critics 1988: Cinematog., Foreign Film; N.Y. Film Critics 1988: Cinematog.; Natl. Soc. Film Critics 1988: Cinematog.