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POSTER
WIM WENDERS' "WINGS OF DESIRE"
Posted by Hello
IMAGE OF ANGEL ATOP STATUE OVERLOOKING BERLIN FROM
WIM WENDERS' "WINGS OF DESIRE"
Posted by Hello
In my
recent posts I was talking about the films of Spanish surrealist director Luis Bunuel & the bizarre films of David Lynch
& the puzzling films of Ingmar Bergman .
It is difficult to impossible to rent or buy many of these films. Some
of these films which might be available are for sale at outrageous prices. For instance at HMV the Exterminating Angel by
Bunuel is only available in VHS for about $150 & David Lynch’s bizarre masterpiece ERASER HEAD goes for about the
same price. . So you have to have a good source of money & be part of the Bourgeoisie to buy a film which attacks the
Bourgeoisie & materialism it is a little bit ironic & absurd I think.
A DVD copy of Bergman’s The Seventh Seal goes for 60$ or more.
Or Kurosawa ‘s Seven Samurai goes for about $ 70.
I can purchase six previously viewed films at Movie Gallery for the
same price. So what’s an anarchist to do. What’s a movie lover to do.
Last week I ordered three films over the Net which includes two of Stuart Gordon’s
bizarre & surrealistic film DAGON & Brian Yuzna’s twisted gorefest satirical SOCIETY & WINGS OF DESIRE by
the German film director Wim Wenders.
See DAGON HOMEPAGE:/movies.fantasticfactory.com/dagon/
Wings of Desire(1987 ,128) min is an astonishing piece of film . It is the story of Angels
& how they spend their time recording the thoughts & activities of mortal humans. The first part of the film is in
black & white & with the voice over reciting at times the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke combined with fabulous cinematography
the film becomes one of the most beautiful & lyrical pieces of film making.
The film takes its time & lingers or hovers about its main themes of the human condition
birth & death & growing old of the role of memory in our lives as well as love & isolation & alienation in
the modern world & even good old German angst.
As one reviewer (Anthony Leong) writes:
(users.aol.com/aleong1631/wingsofdesire.)
‘ "Wings of Desire" is director Wim Wenders' hauntingly beautiful celebration of
the simple pleasures of life, and the inherent beauty in everyday occurrences. As seen through the eyes of the angels that
stand watch over its streets, the divided city of Berlin is a pastiche of emotions and experience, a bittersweet testament
to the blessed nature of the human condition. Inspired by the poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, this deliberately meditative film
is counted as a favorite among many critics. In addition to spawning a sequel in 1993 ("Faraway, So Close!"), "Wings of Desire"
was also remade in 1998 as "City of Angels".’
One of the angels falls in love with a woman & decides to become mortal to be with
her. The angel Damiel ...
“One day, while observing a circus rehearsal, he is captivated by Marion, a French
trapeze artist practicing her routine in an angel costume. Receiving the news that the circus is closing, she feels profoundly
alone, but is consoled by Damiel's empathic presence. He falls in love with her: her grace, passion, melancholy. They are
kindred spirits longing to find an inextricable part of their soul that is missing. If Damiel can transfigure, perhaps he
can fill the void.”
(See: www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/wenders)
"WINGS
OF DESIRE" ANGEL DAMIEL WALKING BY THE BERLIN WALL
Posted by Hello
When Damiel becomes mortal the film switches to colour . The angel relishes the
bodily sensations which he begins to experience for the first time such as being hungry then satisfying his hunger & feeling
cold then becoming warm etc. There are a couple of interesting things about the film which are of note. For instance Peter
Falk plays himself & is in Berlin working on a film & is often shown sketching people & as we discover he is also
an angel who became mortal in the 1940's this in itself adds a strange dimension to the film & the other point of interest
for me is that we get to see Nick Cave perform in a small German café bar.
And as Mark Deming of the New York Times puts it:
“Wings Of Desire hinges on the intangible and elusive, and it builds something beautiful
from those qualities.” ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide on the net.
The American remake of the the film as CITY OF ANGELS is far too hollywoodish if you like
& is plot driven & is just another love story for the most part & is wholly unsatisfying after viewing the original.
They also changed the details about the female character played by Meg Ryan who is a heart surgeon which is a bit beyond the
trapeze performer in the original. In City of Angels she is a successful woman & not as in the original someone who is
on the fringes of society an outsider or Bohemian who enjoys the dark & strange heartfelt music of Nick Cave. This is
a person at a crossroads in her life & we can empathize with & can see how the angel could fall in love with her.
For any film buff this is a must see as required by the natural laws of Surrealism &
all that manifest itself as Holy or whatever.
Also see : WIM WENDERS OFFICIAL HOMEPAGE
/www.wim-wenders.com/movies/
And for a review of the DVD Package(2003) see: DVDFILE.COM: Wings of Desire review
this site has a number of film reviews & details about the quality of the DVDS & any extras etc.
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