Der Himmel über Berlin

English title: Wings of Desire

Genre: supernatural drama (in black and white/colour)

With: Bruno Ganz (Damiel), Solveig Dommartin (Marion the trapezist), Otto Sander (Cassiel), Curt Bois (Homer the aged poet), Peter Falk (the movie star), Hans-Marrin Stier (the dying man), Elmar Wilms (a sad man), Lajos Kovács (Marion's trainer)

Director: Wim Wenders

Screenplay: Peter Handke and Wim Wenders, with help from Richard Reitinger and Bernard Eisenschitz

Release: 1987

Studio: Road Movies Filmproduktion, Argos Films, Westdeutscher Rundfunk

Rating: PG-13

MBiS score: 8.8/10 

 

‟Instead of forever hovering above... I'd like to feel a weight grow in me... to end the infinity and to tie me to earth.” 

 

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Story-line: from various sites in Berlin – a rooftop, an incoming passenger jet, busy streets – angel Damiel observes humans dealing with earthly problems and tries to comfort them with the help of fellow angel Cassiel. One day, however, he wonders aloud what it would be like to be on the other side, to be a human being.

Pluses: persuasive acting by Bruno Ganz (as the reflective Damiel), Otto Sander (his sympathetic partner), Solveig Dommartin, Curt Bois and Peter Falk (in an important and surprising role), essential support from a good cast and a remnant of history (the Berlin Wall), perfect and uncompromising direction, a transcendent, poetic and thought-provoking screenplay, magnificent cinematography and breathtaking visuals, exquisite production values and a dramatic, varied musical score.

Minuses: (1) please remember that the film follows a specific colour code (black and white for angels, colour for humans; angels can be seen by blind people and children but not by adults generally). (2) While striving to show our two angels caring for earthlings at pivotal moments of their lives, the movie does feel disjointed and episodic in its first half but makes up for it later on by focusing brilliantly on its main characters. (3) Considering its philosophical point of view and occasional gravitas, this movie may not suit every taste.    

Comments: it is for good reason that most arbiters of the cinematic world (Cannes Festival, New York and Los Angeles Film Critics, National Society of Film Critics, etc.) have hailed Wim Wenders’ splendid work. Arty, conceptual, original and profound, it links the spiritual and secular worlds in daring fashion and takes the viewer on a journey that is sometimes gloomy but ultimately hopeful. Through Homer’s musings, it also bears witness to the scars that still pockmarked Berlin forty years after the war and to the infamous division brought about by the building of the Wall. WINGS OF DESIRE is a masterpiece, a cerebral work that slowly seeps into your system and stays with you like a guardian angel. As for its enigmatic final note (‟To be continued…”), it refers to a 1993 follow-up, FARAWAY, SO CLOSE!, that I may see eventually, God willing…              

 

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Un condamné à mort s’est échappé

English title: A Man Escaped

Also known as: le Vent souffle où il veut

Genre: war drama (in black and white)

With: François Leterrier (Lt. Fontaine), Maurice Beerblock (Blanchet), Roland Monod (Pastor Deleyris), Jacques Ertaud (Orsini), Jean Paul Delhumeau (Hébrard), Roger Treherne (Terry), Jean Philippe Delamarre (Prisoner number 10), Charles Le Clainche (François Jost)

Director: Robert Bresson

Screenplay: Robert Bresson (based on the memoir by André Devigny)

Release: 1956

Studio: Gaumont, Nouvelles Éditions de Films

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.8/10 

 

My Kingdom for a Rigid Spoon 

 

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Story-line: Lyons, 1943. Fontaine, a French officer arrested for planting a bomb, tries to evade his Nazi captors but is quickly caught and taken to Montluc, a fort from which no one can escape. Once inside, he has little doubt about his fate: he will face a firing squad... unless he finds a way out.  

Pluses: a convincing performance by François Leterrier as the patient and courageous Fontaine, fine support from a serious cast, superior direction, a tight, no-frills screenplay that flows like a personal diary – mind games included – and makes the most of its grave subject, understandably meagre production values, a very serviceable musical score and a riveting final act.

Minuses: you may need 30 minutes or so to get used to this stark and claustrophobic movie but your efforts won’t go unrewarded.

Comments: World War II has spawned films that are extraordinary in their own right and A MAN ESCAPED is one such film. Robert Bresson’s treatment of Fontaine’s real-life ordeal is dry, demanding and true to his mission as a filmmaker. According to my old Dictionnaire du Cinéma (Larousse, 1986), Bresson was a loner and a perfectionist who broke away from the moviemaking rules of his day to tell his stories in a neutral, stylized tone with the help of non-professional actors. And his method, as arid as it was, yielded several works of vast artistic and human portent. Fontaine’s intensely dramatic story of humiliation, defiance, suspicion and dread is a masterpiece of resilience and international cinema.  

 

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