Event

Wings of Desire

Wim Wenders: Portraits Along the Road

Mar 17

(Wim Wenders, Germany, 1987, DCP, 128 min)

Co-presented with SIFF

Thursday, Mar 17 at 07:00PM

Wings of Desire marked Wenderss homecoming and was his first German film after eight years in America. The main characters are guardian angels benevolent, invisible beings in trench coatswho listen to the thoughts of mortals and attempt to comfort them. One of them, Damiel (Bruno Ganz), wishes to become human after he falls in love with the beautiful trapeze artist Marion (Solveig Dommartin). Peter Falk, playing himself, helps Damiel during his transformation by introducing him to lifes little pleasures. The film is narrated from the perspective of the angels, who see the world in black and white. Only when Damiel becomes human does the world of color reveal itself to him. He leaves behind his old friend Cassiel (Otto Sander), who continues to be accompanied by Homer (Curt Bois), the storyteller of humanity. The film has achieved cult status around the world; in 1998, it was remade under the title City of Angels, with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan in the lead roles.