The Wingspan of Wings of Desire is Too Wide For Most

 

On Thursday evening, I went to The Brattle to see the 1987 film Wings of Desire directed by Wim Wenders.

When I bought my popcorn I briefly spoke with the young lady behind the counter who asked me if I had seen the film before and indicated I saw it a few years back. She asked me where I had seen it. "Here," I replied. I then explained the main reason I went to see Wings of Desire was the presence of Peter Falk (more on him shortly) before adding that Wenders' 1984 film Paris, Texas was among my very favorite films ever and, yes, I had seen it at The Brattle "a few months ago." As it turned out, it has been a little over a year since I saw Paris, Texas at The Brattle. Memories do indeed drift. 

Aside from Falk, I remember very little about Wings of Desire. Mind you it's been 7 years since I last saw the film and lot of memories have fallen by the wayside. What I remember mainly is that Falk was essentially playing himself as an actor on a film being shot in Berlin. Falk refers to himself as Peter while those alongside him call him "Columbo" or "Lieutenant". Wings of Desire was released two years before Columbo was revived on ABC. Had Falk taken the approach to Columbo that he took with Wings of Desire the reboot would have been a far more worthy companion to the original series of the 1970's.

While Falk plays a critical role in Wings of Desire, its protagonist is played by Bruno Ganz. He plays Damiel, an angel who is tired of knowing the innermost thoughts of everyone and wishes to attain or perhaps to return to mortality. This desire is augmented when he views a beautiful trapeze artist played by Solveig Dommartin in her film debut. 

At the conclusion of the film, I overheard several people who were less than impressed with the film. One woman said she was grateful to have fallen asleep during the movie while a group of several others discussed how bored they were by the subject matter. I suspect that American audiences are easily bored by movies without violence in them. Alas the wingspan of Wings of Desire is too much for most.

There is a great deal to digest in Wings of Desire as much of the dialogue is spoken in inner monologue often delivered in a stream of consciousness which can overwhelm the senses. Imagine knowing the thoughts of every person sitting on the Red Line from Cambridge into Boston. To have a full appreciation of Wings of Desire requires repeated viewings though I doubt most people would be prepared to watch it more than once. 

Yet it is a visually compelling movie although with much of it shot in black and white it does look bleak and depressing which is all the more reason people might be disinclined to give it another look. What struck me was how the movie looked even older than it actually is. Part of it is because the movie within a movie was set in a Nazi concentration camp. Just the same, the movie was released 35 years ago and for most people this is an old movie. 

To put this into perspective, the Berlin Wall is frequently seen throughout the film. We now have an entire generation of Germans who never knew Germany was divided by West and East. The Berlin Wall has been torn down longer than it stood.

To further reinforce the idea Wings of Desire is an old movie is the cold fact that all of the principle actors involved in the film - Ganz, Falk, Otto Sander, Curt Bois and Donnmartin have all passed away. Donnmartin was only 45 when she died of a heart attack in 2007 passing away before Ganz, Falk and Sander. 

As I was watching the movie I thought how my Dad would think all of this to be pretentious though given his fondness for Columbo would appreciate Peter Falk's presence but would want more of it. I was also thinking more mundane things much like the random unnamed characters in the movie. 

Specifically, I was (and still am) thinking about the weather. It is raining as I write this dispatch. At the moment, the rain is gentle and will ease me to sleep. But come tomorrow morning and heavy winds and flooding are expected which could be particularly bad in the Seaport District where I work. With tomorrow being two days before Christmas, I hope the firm has the good sense to tell us we do not have to report to work. But I am not counting on it. In which case, I'll just have to make due. It's all part of being mortal.