Wings of Desire (1987)

Wings of Desire (1987) is a romantic fantasy film, both written and directed by Wim Wenders. Set in a divided Berlin, two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, watch over the city. While invisible and unheard by humans, they observe the thoughts of its inhabitants. These include a pregnant woman being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, a young prostitute standing on a busy road, and a broken man feeling betrayed by his wife. As Cassiel puts it, their purpose is to ‘gather, bear witness to, and preserve’ reality. These angels have always existed; they were present in Berlin before it was even established as a city or inhabited by humans. During their travels, they encounter an old man named Homer who dreams of a ‘peaceful epic’.

Cassiel trails the elderly man while he searches for the now-defunct Potsdamer Platz in an empty field. However, their quest only leads them to the graffiti-covered Wall. While both Damiel and Cassiel are mere observers, only visible to children and incapable of engaging with the physical realm, Damiel becomes infatuated with a fellow loner: Marion, a trapeze performer for Circus Alekan who resides alone in her caravan in West Berlin. Unfortunately, she receives news that her circus will be shutting down, causing her to feel despondent as she wanders through the city and dances alone to music by Crime & the City Solution. Meanwhile, actor Peter Falk arrives in West Berlin to shoot a movie about its dark history during the Nazi era.