Today marks the passing of Peter Falk. His acting talent will be missed. Of course, he is known everywhere as Columbo. To others he is remembered for The Princess Bride. But if you have never seen Wings of Desire, you have missed a treasure. Here’s a review I wrote a few years back.
Wings of Desire is a film that explores the theology and the beauty of what it means to be human. It does this by comparing the life of angels and humans from the perspective of an angel, Damiel, who gives up his angelic existence to experience humanity firsthand.
As an angel, he doesn't have a body or the material senses a body possesses to smell flowers, see colors, or touch the curve of a woman's neck. Living in the eternal now that angels exist in, he has never felt the flow of time. He longs to be surprised by the unfolding of the future. He has understood humanity as an observer, interacted as an alien, but now he longs to experience humanity for himself. After wrestling with the question of mortality, his wish is granted.
The movie works through the gift of humanity in three movements. It begins mostly in black and white. This represents the intellectual experience of angels that don't experience our sensual life. Damiel talks to his friend Cassiel about the pretense of angels taking on temporary human guise. Going through the motions of eating, but never touching or tasting. The lack of color also adds to the contemplative mood, removing distractions while we think about the questions the angels pose. In contrast, the human perspective is presented in vibrant color and pushed along by a greater consciousness of time.
The third movement follows him as he explores the world of the senses with a child-like innocence and a sense of wonder at a world that is suddenly all new to him. But exploring the world is only the first step. As an angel, he becomes enraptured with a woman. Now, he meets up with her in the flesh. Their meeting forces both of them into the next stage of their life, the third movement. Now they must give up some of what it means to be a child in order to understand and experience love. This movie never leaves us with simple answers, though. There is an old story-teller, Homer, who wanders through the movie reminding of the dangers of forgetting the sense of wonder and the value of the small, natural things that comes easily to a child.
One of the surprises of the film is the sudden appearance of Peter Falk later in the film. He plays an actor (no big stretch there) who can see the angels and recognizes Damiel’s current situation. He is a delightful character that adds additional wonder to the movie.
This is a movie that tackles several complicated themes while remaining clear in its content and never losing sight of its characters. In fact, it is character that drives this film. The representation of the angels is about as biblical as possible given the limitations of film and the needs of the plot, which is refreshing in a time when folk tales have seemed to replace the biblical idea of angels, even among Christians. But it is the thoughtful content that allows the movie to be viewed several times without exhausting what it has to offer. You'll need to view the film at least twice since the actions of Peter Falk's character takes on a whole new meaning after you learn his secret. This movie is a treasure. Don't let it pass you by.
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