Director
Wim Wenders
Leading Actors/Actresses
Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Peter Falk, Solveig Dommartin
Genre
Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Language
German
Awards
Won Best Director at Cannes Film Festival - 1987
Date of Release
1987
Producer
Anatole Dauman, Wim Wenders
Setting and Context
Berlin, Germany during the Cold War 1987
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Damiel
Tone and Mood
Wistful, Dramatic, Romantic, Serious
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonists are Damiel and Cassiel. Antagonist is the loneliness of man.
Major Conflict
Damiel wants to give up his eternal state as an angel to become human.
Climax
Damiel becomes human and falls in love with Marion, giving up his angelic eternity.
Foreshadowing
We see that Damiel and Cassiel cannot experience life the same as humans and we feel their longing to do so. It foreshadows Damiel's choice to become human.
Understatement
It is understated as to why Cassiel does not shake Peter Falk's hand as he stares at him with great intensity.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
The story is an allusion that angels desire what we on earth take for granted; the sensory experiences of life.
Paradox
Damiel becomes human and though he was once an angel he paradoxically cannot feel the touch of his closest friend, Cassiel when he is comforted by him.
Parallelism
Cassiel longing for his friendship with Damiel while watching him twirl Marion parallels Damiel's longing for Marion when he was an angel, watching her on the trapeze.
