Wings of Desire

Wim Wenders' beautiful tale of a lovelorn angel returns to the screen in a newly restored version as an encore screening.

Drifting from monuments to rooftops and down to the No Man's Land of pre-Unification Berlin, overcoat-clad angel Damiel (Bruno Ganz) has dedicated his existence to observing and caring for Berliners. However, the lives of two mortals will disrupt his calling. Hollywood actor Peter Falk (playing himself) arrives in West Berlin to shoot a film about the city's past, and Marion, a lonely trapeze artist, is saddened to learn that her circus will be closing.

Curator's note

Wim Wenders' much-loved 1987 film is one of his most romantic, and at its core is a love between a director and a city – a divided Berlin, still bearing the scars of conflict, but populated with people who are healing and open to love. Aside from Peter Falk, who enthusiastically joined the cast as himself, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, who had relocated to Berlin a couple of years before production, also make a cameo as themselves. Wings of Desire premiered at the 40th Cannes Film Festival where Wenders won the award for Best Director. In 2018, this 4K restoration, produced by the Wim Wenders Foundation from the original film stock, fittingly premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.