Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

thinbeach Unseen by the human population, other than those who were once like them, angels wander around bleak Berlin, wondering what its like to be human - to see, to feel, to taste, etc... One falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist and decides he must become human so as to be with her. How he does this we aren't told, but he does. Once he meets her, he doesn't even need to say a word, she immediately loves him, apparently because he visited her dreams, or some mystical connection. It is an ode to the human experience, with a wonderful transition from observance to experience. The ever flowing camera movement mimics the flight-like nature of angels, and gives the film a dreamy, poetic feel. However all the existentialism becomes quite monotonous, and one can't help but feel it should have been told in half the time. Without a plot it feels aimless, and although the themes are slowly revealed, it is far slower than necessary. It does sink us into the mundane, un-feeling nature of the angels, but it doesn't make for compelling viewing!I can't help but feel there are some cryptic messages behind all this, but like the angels, they are seen only by some, and I shall continue my human existence, invigorating the senses, and wondering what it's all about.

lasttimeisaw Invisible (or occasionally visible only to children's beady eyes) angels are wandering among us, telepathic to our inarticulate thoughts, but ocularly, lives in a black-and-white realm, sometimes hovering above with a God's eye-view, sometimes passing us by like an apparition, sometimes contemplating our misery with utter poignancy, but they are unable to interact with neither a mortal's live nor the physical world, all they can do is observing, listening, extending a conciliatory but discarnate hand when empathy hits hard, in Wim Wenders' WINGS OF DESIRE, that is the price for a bystander's infinite existence.In West Berlin, just a few years before the demolition of that infamous wall, two angels Damien (Ganz) and Cassiel (Sander), dwelling in Berlin State Library, among others, confer about their philosophy, their year-round observance and their mission on earth, and divergence starts to crystallize when Damien gets particularly attached to a trapeze performer Marion (Dommartin, in her film debut), submerged entirely in her lonesomeness. Before her circus disbands, and encouraged by an erstwhile angel, the actor Peter Falk, COLUMBO himself, who forsook immortality 30 years ago, Damien decides to follow suit in pursuit of fulfilling his providential encounter with Marion; meanwhile a stolid Cassiel, closely follows an old man Homer (the swan song of the octogenarian Curt Bois, for an extraordinary career spanning over seven decades), sauntering around the city for the remnant of his war-ravaged past, becomes increasingly distressed after witnessing a young man's suicide and refuses Peter's overtures, remains his angelic form against the inexpressible torment as his deathless burden. Wenders' humanistic inclination melds fittingly with Peter Handke's poetic text, namely, the seminal and recurring poem SONG OF CHILDHOOD, monologized from Damien's perspective. It is not a fluke that he was crowned BEST DIRECTOR in Cannes, Wenders takes a great leap of faith in furnishing viewers with those sublime aerial craning shots and meditative dolly sequences, to say nothing of presenting Marion's nail-biting acrobatic performance, and the dichotomy between Angel's sepia-inflected monochrome and a varicolored human world totally nails the tonal shift that lends the film a timeless luster of cinematic appeal, which is not solely on the eye level, but plunges deep into one's psyche, to cogitate on humanity through a purely existential ground. Bruno Ganz is singularly expressive with his soul-reaching gazes and as a newly born human, he manifests a touching impression of elation and amazement that almost becomes mesmeric to behold; also, a supple Solveig Dommartin, gallantly conquers both senses of garish and ethereal while kills it on the trapeze, whereas Peter Falk relishes in his meta-presence with gusto and geniality. Gingered up with live rendition from Simon Bonney's Crime & The City Solution and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, WINGS OF DESIRE holds dear in its heart the most elemental sensation of being alive, and at the same time, formulates a lucid message to mankind's inescapable pathos, a knockout, through and through.

oscar-nicholson There is good and bad critique around for this film, some people have problems with the pace at which the film runs, others take issue with the Director himself saying he might have been better as a photographer not a film-maker. But in my opinion these people completely miss the purpose of this movie. The Director Wenders, wanted to make something different, something alternative to the guaranteed ticket selling films.This film doesn't feed adrenaline junkies with high speed car chases or gun slinging shoot outs. Nor does it have oodles of sex.What this movie does have is a wonderful storyline but one that doesn't draw you in like some movies in this one you feel like your observing the events almost like a witness - from a distance what you feel what you think they are part of the interaction between yourself and the film.The camera angles and the choice of shots from the director are presented naturally so you know the two main characters want to be together. Some of the background scenery set in Post WW2 Berlin are just perfect Berlin is a wonderfully diverse city so suits this movie well. The film itself offers up so many different ideas and different perspectives you simply must watch it with an open mind so you can allow your own thoughts and curiosity to interact with the film.Wonderful film, but I guess not for everybody.

victoriabailey20 We all want something in this life, a burning desire for more or what we cannot have. Even someone who has everything still longs for more. Much like, in the movie "Wings of Desire". Therefore it came as no surprise when the main character Damiel, an angel, longs to be human, in order to be with the mortal women he falls in love with. Though this movie sounds like it has great potential, do not be conned into thinking it's something worth seeing. The story line is amusing, but overall it is two and a half hours of confusion and disappointment. The viewer would assume the overall plot would be very predictable if the story was simply an angel who falls in love with a mortal, but that is not the case in this film. The director of this film wanted it to go more in depth. In order to do that,t the movie has over ninety plus minutes of black and white commentary of the thoughts of everyday people. Through this, adds emphasis to what the angel's go through and observe, this portion of the movie is extremely dragged out. Most of the commentary is irrelevant to the plot of the movie, and it confuses the viewer as to what the story is. Even when one of the main character in the movie, the trapeze artist, appears the film continues to go off subject. This makes the viewer wonder what their main focus should be on.As for the acting in the movie, this should be rated as decent. Decent in the sense that the parts in this film are relatively easy to portray. Majority of the characters in the film, are simply standard by passer, which can be played by anyone. As for the two main angels, their parts were played well enough, but even a majority of their character is emotionless. The overall all look of the angels being dark and mysterious was chosen well in the appearance of the two men. The look for the main female actress was also matched well with the character being portrayed. She gives off a look of youth and innocence and when speaking her dialog she does well in seducing the audience with her eyes and voice. The combination of her looks and the look of Damiel, is an awkward combination. His appearance being much older and more mature than hers, makes them an awkward pair for the audience to connect to.The setting choice for the movie, works for and against it. Berlin being chosen as the city the story takes place, makes you wonder right off if the movie is based on what's going on at the time. Though that aspect adds more interest in the thoughts and emotions of the everyday people the angels observe, it only add to the confusion on what your focus should be on. If the German title for the movie "The Skies of Heaven over Berlin", would have been kept, the viewer would immediately think the movie had everything to do with what tragedy was taking place in Berlin at the time and would draw attention away from the actual plot of the movie.Another major point of confusion in the movie is the question of who's, what? When the Damiel transitions into a human, we find out that the English actor Peter Fauc is also a former angel himself. We know this because he can sense their presence when the angels are around him. With that information, who's to say the main female actress is not former angel herself? There is no evidence in the film that says she not, but there is evidence that says she could be. For instance when she knew she was looking for a man but did not know who, and when she spoke alone in the movie it was as if she knows someone was listening. Same way Peter Fauc did when he sensed the presence of an angel around him. Also, towards the very end of the movie she knew exactly what man to go to in the bar, and her closing speech was implying she knew who he was all along and that they were going to meet? This is all evidence that supports that she could have also been a former angel herself, which leaves the viewer with even more confusion as to the characterization in the movie.The overall rating for the movie Wings of Desire would be a three out of five stars. The acting and overall story of the movie is not a complete lost cause. The main downfall for the films is its pacing and pointless scenes, which leads to much confusion and loss of interest throughout the very beginning on. The story line has great potential, therefore this movie would do great if remade the right way.