Wings of Desire

(Der Himmel über Berlin, Wim Wenders, West Germany/France 1987, 128 min., 35mm, German w/subtitles)

(In)visibility. Guardian angels left to watch over West Berlin after the Second World War listen to the thoughts and dreams of its citizens from the city’s rooftops. When Bruno Ganz’s angel Damiel falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, he relinquishes his immortality and falls to earth to be with her. Shot primarily in black and white just two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, this film pays poetic tribute to a city divided. Wings of Desire, which earned Wim Wenders the award for Best Director at Cannes in 1987, explores the complex connection between looking, loving, and holding, and remains one of cinema’s most affecting city symphonies.