Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)

An immortal angel in a divided Berlin falls in love with a human trapeze artist and chooses to sacrifice his divinity to experience mortal life.

Original title

Wings of Desire

First release year

1987

Runtime (minutes)

127

Production countries

West Germany; France

Original languages

German; English; French; Turkish; Hebrew; Spanish

Directors

Wim Wenders

Writers

Wim Wenders · writer; Peter Handke · writer; Richard Reitinger · collaboration

Cast and characters

Bruno Ganz · Damiel; Solveig Dommartin · Marion; Otto Sander · Cassiel; Curt Bois · Homer; Peter Falk · himself

Genres

romantic fantasy; fantasy

Themes

humanity; loneliness; memory; German unity; religion; New Age; cinema

Tone and mood

lyrical; wintry; dreamy; melancholic; mystical

Premise and plot tags

angelic; metaphysical; philosophical; fantasy; romantic

Source material / true-story basis

Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry

Franchise connections

Faraway, So Close!

Reception

Wings of Desire received widespread critical acclaim, being hailed as a mystical near-masterpiece and a poetic masterpiece. It was a critical and financial success, appearing on numerous 'best of' lists for the 1980s and being ranked among the greatest films ever made.

Reported review scores

Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · review count: 65

Awards and nominations

Best Director · Cannes Film Festival · win; Grand Prix · Belgian Film Critics Association · 1988 · win

Production trivia

The film was shot in both colour and black-and-white, with monochrome representing the angels' point of view.; The story was inspired by art depicting angels visible around West Berlin encircled by the Berlin Wall.; The film's title 'Der Himmel über Berlin' was used for its West German opening.

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

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