Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels who watch over the city of Berlin. They don't have harps or wings (well, they usually don't have wings) and they prefer overcoats to gossamer gowns. But they can travel unseen through the city, listening to people's thoughts, watching their actions and studying their lives. While they can make their presence felt in small ways, only children and other angels can see them. They spend their days serenely observing, unable to interact with people, and they feel neither pain nor joy. One day, Damiel finds his way into a circus and sees Marion (Solveig Dommartin), a high-wire artist, practicing her act; he is immediately smitten. After the owners of the circus tell the company that the show is out of money and must disband, Marion sinks into a funk, shuffling back to her trailer to ponder what to do next. As he watches her, Damiel makes a decision: he wants to be human, and he wants to be with Marion, to lift her spirits and, if need be, to share her pain. Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire is a remarkable modern fairy tale about the nature of being alive. The angels witness the gamut of human emotions, and they experience the luxury of simple pleasures (even a cup of coffee and a cigarette) as ones who've never known them. From the angels' viewpoint, Berlin is seen in gorgeous black-and-white -- strikingly beautiful but unreal; when they join the humans, the image shifts to rough but natural-looking color, and the waltz-like grace of the angels' drift through the city changes to a harsher rhythm. Peter Falk appears as himself, revealing a secret that we may not have known about the man who played Columbo, and there's also a brief but powerful appearance by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Wings of Desire hinges on the intangible and elusive, and it builds something beautiful from those qualities.
Bruno Ganz | Damiel |
Solveig Dommartin | Marion |
Otto Sander | Cassiel |
Curt Bois | Homer, the aged poet |
Peter Falk | Der Filmstar |
Lajos Kov??cs | Im Zirkus - Marion's Trainer |
Hans Martin Stier | In weiteren Rollen - Der Sterbende |
Elmar Wilms | In weiteren Rollen - Ein trauriger Mann |
Sigurd Rachman | In weiteren Rollen - Der Selbstmörder |
Paul Busch | Im Zirkus |
Beatrice Manowski | In weiteren Rollen - Das Strichmädchen |
Irene Moessinger | Im Zirkus |
Lajos Kovács | Im Zirkus - Marion's Trainer |
Bruno Rosaz | Im Zirkus - Der Clown |
Teresa Harder | In der Bibliothek - Die Engel |
Laurent Petitgand | Im Zirkus - Der Kapellmeister |
Bernard Eisenschitz | In der Bibliothek - Die Engel |
Rolf Henke | In der Bibliothek - Die Engel |
Chick Ortega | Im Zirkus - Der Schlagzeuger (as Chico Rojo Ortega) |
Otto Kuhnle | Im Zirkus - Die Jongleure |
Franck Glemin | In der Bibliothek - Die Engel |
Jeanette Pollak | Im Bunker - Die Kost??mbildnerin |
Peter Werner | Im Zirkus - Der Manager |
David Crome | Im Bunker - Der Regieassistent |
Werner Sch??nrock | Im Bunker |
Erika Rabau | Im Bunker |
Sultan Meral | Im Bunker |
Jochen Gliscinsky | Im Bunker |
Margarete Hafner | In den Altbauwohnungen |
Margitta Haberland | In den Altbauwohnungen |
Ralf Strathmann | In den Altbauwohnungen |
Charlotte Oberberg | In den Altbauwohnungen |
Gisela Westerboer | Auf der Autobahn |
Anne Gerstl | Auf der Autobahn |
Ruth Rischke | Auf der Autobahn |
Mick Harvey | Crime and The City Solution |
Rowland S. Howard | Crime and The City Solution |
Nick Cave | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds |
Blixa Bargeld | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds |
Kid Congo Powers | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds |
Dieta von Aster | Mit den Kindern |
Paul Geisler | Mit den Kindern |
Sladjana Kostic | Mit den Kindern |
Nicolas Roth | Mit den Kindern |
Benjamin Ferchow | Mit den Kindern |
Mark Leuschner | Mit den Kindern |
Lia Harder | Mit den Kindern |
Vera Butzek | Mit den Kindern |
Christoph Merg | Im Zirkus - Der Jongleure |
Susanne Vierk??tter | Im Zirkus |
Karin Busch | Im Zirkus |
Franky | Im Zirkus - last but not least |
Daniela Nasimcova | In der Bibliothek - Die Engel |
Didier Flamand | In der Bibliothek - Die Engel |
Scott Kirby | In der Bibliothek - Die Engel |
Jerry Barrish | Im Bunker - Der Regisseur |
Christian Bartels | Im Bunker - Der 'Hitlerjunge' |
K??the F??rstenwerth | Im Bunker |
Bernd Ramien | Im Bunker |
Silvia Blagojeva Itscherenska | Im Bunker |
Olivier Picot | Im Bunker |
Erich Schupke | Im Bunker |
Oliver Herder | In den Altbauwohnungen |
J??rgen Heinrich | In den Altbauwohnungen |
Walter Ratayszak | In den Altbauwohnungen |
Lubinka Kostic | In den Altbauwohnungen |
Andreas Valentin | Auf der Autobahn |
Dirk Vogeley | Auf der Autobahn |
Simon Bonney | Crime and The City Solution |
Harry Howard | Crime and The City Solution |
Kevin Godfrey | Crime and The City Solution |
Thomas Wydler | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds |
Roland Wolf | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds |
Denis Rodriguez | Mit den Kindern |
Gustav Geisler | Mit den Kindern |
Lorenz Geisler | Mit den Kindern |
Benedikt Schumann | Mit den Kindern |
Marcus Stenzel | Mit den Kindern |
Mario Meyer | Mit den Kindern |
Tibor Dahlenburg | Mit den Kindern |
Mascha Noak | Mit den Kindern |
Donald Behrendt | Mit den Kindern |