Wings of Desire

In Brief: Only in the world of a Wim Wenders film would an angel express the desire to go home and read a Philip Marlowe mystery as one of the reasons he’d like to be human. But because that desire is expressed in a Wim Wenders film, it seems completely reasonable. And if that makes sense to you, then you either already know something of Wenders and his films, or you’re likely to be a good candidate for them. Wenders’ movies don’t exactly zip along, and they tend to be pretty heavy in the symbolism and allegory department — qualities some viewers may find off-putting. They are also frequently not that concerned with telling a story, which is the case with Wings of Desire, a film more about mood, place and theme than narrative. Depending on your tastes, you’ll find the film either a beautiful, moving experience or a slow and pretentious one. One thing you won’t find is that it's much like anything else, except perhaps another Wenders movie. But Wenders is sufficiently important in modern film, though, that it’s worth finding out for yourself — or possibly even giving the movie a second or third chance. This excerpt was taken from a review by Ken Hanke, published on July 20, 2005.