WINGS OF DESIRE | Dir. Wim Winders | 1987 | 128 min
Presented in German with English subtitles.

Wings of Desire marked Wenders’s homecoming and was his first German film after eight years in America. The main characters are guardian angels— benevolent, invisible beings in trench coats—who listen to the thoughts of mortals and attempt to comfort them. One of them, Damiel (Bruno Ganz), wishes to become human after he falls in love with the beautiful trapeze artist Marion (Solveig Dommartin). Peter Falk, playing himself, helps Damiel during his transformation by introducing him to life’s little pleasures. The film is narrated from the perspective of the angels, who see the world in black and white. Only when Damiel becomes human does the world of color reveal itself to him. He leaves behind his old friend Cassiel (Otto Sander), who continues to be accompanied by Homer (Curt Bois), the “storyteller of humanity.” The film has achieved cult status around the world; in 1998, it was remade under the title City of Angels, with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan in the lead roles. – Janus Films

Awards
1987 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL - WINNER (Best Director | Wim Wenders), NOMINATION (Palme d'Or | Wim Wenders)
1988 CESAR AWARDS, FRANCE - NOMINATION (Best Foreign Film | Wim Wenders)
1988 EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS - Best Supporting Actor | Curt Bois, Best Director | Wim Wenders), NOMINATION (Best Film | Wim Wenders, Anatole Dauman, Special Aspect, Henri Alekan | Best Camera)
1988 GERMAN FILM AWARDS - WINNER (Film Award in Gold, Outstanding Feature Film | Argos, Best Cinematography | Henri Alekan), NOMINATION (Film Award in Gold, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | Bruno Ganz)
1988 FRENCH SYNDICATE OF FRENCH FILM CRITICS - WINNER (Critics Award, Best Foreign Film | Wim Wenders, West Germany)
1988 GRAND PRIX DE L'UCC - WINNER (Grand Prix de l'UCC)
1989 GERMAN FILM AWARDS - NOMINATION (Special Film Award '40th Anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany' | Wim Wenders)
1989 BAFTA AWARDS - NOMINATION (Best Film not in the English Language | Wim Wenders & Anatole Dauman, West Germany/France)
1988 BAVARIAN FILM AWARDS - WINNER (Best Direction | Wim Wenders)
1988 ITALIAN INTERNATIONAL SYNDICATE OF FILM JOURNALISTS - NOMINATION (Silver Ribbon, Best Foreign Actor | Bruno Ganz)
1988 LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS - WINNER (LAFCA Award, Best Cinematography | Henri Alekan, Best Foreign Film | Wim Wenders)
1988 NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS - WINNER ( NYFCC Award, Best Cinematographer | Henri Alekan), 3RD PLACE (NYFCC Award, Best Director | Wim Wenders)
1988 SAO PAULO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNER (Audience Award, Best Feature | Wim Wenders)
1989 BLUE RIBBON AWARDS - WINNER (Best Foreign Language Film | Wim Wenders)
1989 GUILD OF GERMAN ART HOUSE CINEMAS - WINNER (Guild Film Award - Silver, German Film | Wim Wenders)
1989 INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS - WINNER (Independent Spirit Award, Best Foreign Film | Wim Wenders, West Germany)
1989 NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS AWARDS, USA - WINNER (NSFC Award, Best Cinematography | Henri Alekan), 3RD PLACE (NSFC Award, Best Director | Wim Wenders,
Best Film. Tied with A World Apart (1988) in 3rd place.)
1991 SESC FILM FESTIVAL, BRAZIL - WINNER (Audience Award, Best Foreign Film | Wim Wenders, Critics Award, Best Foreign Film | Wim Wenders)

Wings of Desire is the fourth work of focus in our MASTERS: WIM WENDERS series.