“…When I saw this in Berlin in 1988 it was a very very new film and I shortly afterwards met the wonderful director Wim Wenders. The images of this film have stayed with me… My subjective response… was to be in floods of tears within ten or fifteen seconds of it beginning.

…When we do find our own work of art, it reminds us of where we are now in our lives. Not only is a great work of art a gift to the future but it truly does hold a mirror up to ourselves – that’s what art’s there for and that’s what great cinema’s there for,

 to mirror the soul of human conditions and mirror where we are now… And this film really, is a film that urges you not to give up on love. I didn’t and one of the reasons I am here this evening is that I am sitting with the woman I was looking for all those years ago, I don’t know how I found her but I did. It is a joy to be sitting with her and watching the film. It’s like a full circle for me. Because as I say when I first saw it she wasn’t there. And now she is…”

“Not only is a great work of art a gift to the future but it truly does hold a mirror up to ourselves.”

Wings of Desire

Wim Wender’s contemporary masterpiece, Wings of Desire is a romantic celebration of the transient and delicate moments of being human. A political symbol for the reunification of Germany, this film centers around two angels wandering in a blend of post-war and modern Berlin.

Damiel (Bruno Ganz) is a spiritual guide for the desperate, an eternal observer of life. Unable to experience the subtleness of physical being he spends eternity listening to people’s thoughts and comforting the dying. He discloses to a fellow angel Cassiel (Otto Sander), his desire to experience life as a human. One day he observes a circus rehearsal and is mesmerized by Marion, a French trapeze artist practicing her routine in an angel costume. Hearing that the circus is closing, she feels overwhelmingly alone, but is consoled by Damiel’s presence. He falls in love with her: her elegance, charm, passion, and her sorrow. He finds in her the fulfillment of all his mortal desires. They are kindred souls yearning to discover a piece of their soul that is missing. If Damiel can transform perhaps he can fill the void.

A hugely acclaimed and multi-award winning movie including Best Director for Wenders at Cannes 1987 and at the European Film Awards. This film was later remade (in 1998) into City of Angels starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan.

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