Wings of Desire - Movie Review Example

European Film Wings of Desire Movie Overview Directed by Wim Wenders in the year 1987, the movie revolves around two angels, Cassiel and Damiel whose role is to watch over the city of Berlin. Later, Damiel meets an artist, Marion and he falls in love with her. As a result of this, Damiel gets extremely confused and even contemplates leaving his post as an angel. As the movie progresses, Damiel is advised by Peter Falk. We later see Daniel making a choice to continue living in the world as a human with Marion. The movie is set in Berlin, Germany. The title, Wings of Desire, is appropriate to the thematic concerns that the author is trying to pass across. For long, Damiel had been thinking about humans and their emotions, and through his thinking, he is led into Marion, and they two are extremely attracted to each other. This explains the title. Summary The movie opens in a gloomy city of Berlin, a city which at this time was recovering from the 1945 bombing and various years of neglect. The angels are then revealed to the viewers. Dressed in black garments, the two, Damiel and Cassiel, have melancholic and benevolent expressions from their faces. Their role is to watch over the city of Berlin and ensure that its inhabitants are safe. We learn that these two are invisible to the inhabitants, but children and other angels are able to see them. Damiel and Cassiel seem to the audience as caretakers of people’s memory. We see them taking down notes and listening to the thoughts of the people. They also travel around the city watching the inhabitants’ actions and extensively studying them. Most of their days are spent serenely whereby they only observe people, but, are not able to interact with them. They are emotionless in that, they are unable to experience joy or pain. This sums up the life of an angel in Berlin. On a normal day, we see Damiel meeting an artist Marion. Damiel gets enchanted and smitten by her beauty. The company that Marion works for reveals that it is out of money, hence, they must be forced to disband. This really upsets Marion. As Damiel watches her, he starts developing human feelings and he makes a decision; that he wants to start living as a human. Damiel is really moved by what marion is going through, hence, decides to be part of her life, share in her pain, and console her in times of distress. As this happens, Cassiel assumes an otherwise opposite trait; he walks around unsmiling and unmoved by events of humans. Perhaps, Cassiel was disturbed by his friend’s continued fondness of the human beings. From this, we learn of the extreme juxtaposition between these two major characters of the movie. While Damiel is enthusiastic, honest and exploitative, Cassiel is dry and wary, and devoid of passion. He is not attracted at all to the human side unlike his friend who aspires to lead a human life; however the viewer can begin to note his frustration with the life that he is leading (Willcock 76). The movie depicts the exact nature of human beings in the contemporary life. Angels in the movie keep witnessing human emotions and with time, they become enchanted by it. They start experiencing the sweetness of simple pleasures like a cup of tea and a cigarette stick. From the viewpoint of the angels, the city of Berlin is seen in a tinge of white and black, which is beautiful, yet unreal. Later, when these angels join humans, the color shifts from black and white into a natural looking color and into a harsher rhythm. Through these changes, we see the movie having enigmatic, wistful, somber, dreamlike and meditative tones. Later, Damiel falls from grace by dropping into the world, and we see him roaming about the berlin streets looking for his love Marion. As Damiel does this, his friend Cassiel remains in his black and white world of angels and stills retains his sulking mood. Later, unable to hold it longer, Cassiel also becomes human and drops to the Berlin world. Cassiel later meets Marion and Damiel at a concert in Nick Cave. They clown around and the three of them engage in a cream-pie fight. Therefore, the movie ends ends in a comedic note whereby the former angels who used to watch over Berlin now are taking part in the fun of being human beings. Role of place The movie has analyzed various themes through the use of space. Speech has had an important role to play in events that transpired in the movie. The movie is set in the city of Berlin, and through this, we learn of the many events that were occurring in this place. For example, we are introduced to the movie a time when the second World had extremely dilapidated German cities and the state of neglect that had been experienced. Another event in the movie that shows that the place chosen was in tandem with the plot is in Marion’s case. Just like Berlin was destroyed by the war, lives of characters have also been destroyed, and it is only after Damiel comes along that she is able to lead a happy and enjoyable life (Winfrey 78). Berlin has also been perfect due to the symbols used by the movie producers. The two angels remember many things, one of which is the melting of glaciers. This symbolizes dynamism in life, and Berlin is the best for this since the city experiences. In the movie also, we learn that Berlin is a divided city through the two major walls. We are told that the two angels constantly moved between the two cities, and they compared notes concerning the two poles of Berlin. Therefore, Damiel and Cassiel emerge as the hope and strength for a city that is recovering from destruction. As much as these two events are not able to change and alter events, they are a source of hope and strength to the people. For example, when Marion’s job ends, Damiel comes over so that he may become the source of strength and hope to her. Therefore, Berlin blends very well with this movie in the sense that Berlin was a city that was under destruction, but, the two angels ensured that its inhabitants have hope and satisfaction in life. Besides, Berlin has all sorts of people, and from the experiences of the angels, we learn that indeed, Berlin had people of varying natures and characters (Wellman 39). There is no much difference between American cities and Berlin at the time of the movie since even the US took part in the war. Its cities were also in the state of panicky, hopelessness and fear and they needed consolation and guidance, like the one that is provided by the two angels. However, there is no much emphasis on cultural issues like gender and religion. However, the issue of marriage and companionship has been well illustrated in the movie. Angels in the movie are attracted to the life as humans due to the issue of companionship that has been well discussed by the producers. There are various street scenes in the movie, which serves to illustrate the encounters of the angels. Through the scenes also, we are introduced to the noteworthy architecture of buildings in the city. Therefore, in the movie Wings of Desire, place has been used to discuss thematic concerns effectively. By using Berlin, the producers have explained problems faced by people at the time and their rescue. Berlin has also been used as a form of juxtaposition. The two angels are juxtaposed in character, just like the two sides of Berlin were juxtaposed (Lambert 45). Works Cited Lambert, Elizabeth. Wings of Desire. New York: Avon Books, 2008. Print Wellman, Rita. The Wings of Desire. New York: BiblioBazaar, 2009. Print Winfrey. The Wings of Desire. Berlin: Kessinger Publishing, 2007. Print Willcocks, Mary Patricia. The Wings of desire. New York: John Lane Company, 2008. Print Read More