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I have been wanting to see this film for a long time, and finally managed to get my hands on a copy. It is a German film, set in Berlin, which after remaking and recasting became ‘City of Angels’. Those who had seen the original first slated ‘City of Angels’, and I can understand why. ‘Wings of Desire’ is a totally different film, fantastic in it’s own right but I personally am glad that I saw the films the way round I did and I can see why devotes of ‘Wings of Desire’ weren’t that keen on ‘City of Angels’. What they have in common, is that angels inhabit the earth – especially in libraries – one angel longs to know what it would be like to be human, and one character in the film was indeed once an angel, but now lives a human life. That is were similarities end, no name for the brooding angel, no doctor, no beach scene, in fact nothing else to link the two films at all, apart maybe from a passing remark about a bicycle.
‘Wings of Desire’ is darker – and not only because vast bits of it are in monochrome; it is more intense and requires to be watched not just viewed – and that isn’t just because of the sub-titles; it is a film that makes you think, well made me think at least – unlike ‘City of Angels’ which is entertainment.
Would I recommend it, yes I would – highly.