An angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a m... Read allAn angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.An angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 18 wins & 14 nominations total
- In weiteren Rollen - Der Sterbende
- (as Hans Martin Stier)
- Im Zirkus - Der Schlagzeuger
- (as Chico Rojo Ortega)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the closing titles it says: "Dedicated to all the former angels, but especially to Yasujiro, François and Andrej." This refers to film directors Yasujirô Ozu, François Truffaut, and Andrei Tarkovsky. All were favorites of director Wim Wenders. At the time of this movie's filming, Truffaut and Tarkovsky had only recently passed away, in 1984 and 1986, respectively; Ozu died in 1963.
- GoofsWhen Cassiel (Otto Sander) is crossing the street, a bus slows down to allow him to cross the road, then accelerates once he's clear. As Cassiel is an invisible angel, the bus driver shouldn't have been able to see him.
- Quotes
Damiel: When the child was a child, it was the time of these questions. Why am I me, and why not you? Why am I here, and why not there? When did time begin, and where does space end? Isn't life under the sun just a dream? Isn't what I see, hear, and smell just the mirage of a world before the world? Does evil actually exist, and are there people who are really evil? How can it be that I, who am I, wasn't before I was, and that sometime I, the one I am, no longer will be the one I am?
- Crazy creditsDedicated to all the former angels, but especially to Yasujiro, François and Andrej.
- SoundtracksZirkusmusik
by Laurent Petitgand
It has a great premise- angels (not winged creatures but men in cool black coats, similar to the portrayal of the dead in Orphee) watch over late eighties Berlin, observing the humans they see around them. One angel (Bruno Ganz) falls in love with a mortal trapeze artist (Solveig Dommartin). You would think that this would be a winning formula and therefore a brilliant film. I was disappointed to find out that although it may not be a bad film, it is by no means a brilliant one.
The cinematography is great, although the monochrome angels and technicolour humans had already been done 40 years previously. We get some great shots of urban Berlin, which gives the film an interesting cultural context. It almost acts as a time capsule, and had Wenders concentrated on this aspect of the film, the film would not seem as unfocused and vague as it does.
The worst part of the film is the dialogue, which is pseudo-philosophical naval gazing. I don't mind introspective dialogue but when every sentence is some vague existential musing, I tend to tune out, which is fatal for this film as the action is essentially in their internal monologues. The trapeze artist's final monologue could have worked had the whole film not been composed in that way but the monologue is basically a repetition of what has been constantly repeated throughout the film. Some arty types might forgive this because they see it as some universal truth but for most, it is simply repetitive to the point at which it becomes meaningless.
I forgot the love story! Seems that Wenders did that too because it only makes an appearance in the last half-hour or so of the film, although there were tiny hints earlier on. Because the romance is so unprominent for most of the film, when it finally comes to it, you wonder why the film was two hours long and not one hour. Apart from the misjudged monologue by the trapeze artist, it is quite a romantic scene. Her dress is stunning.
Potentially a great thought-provoking film but self-indulgence on the director's/writers' part causes the film to feel unfocused and vague. The film tries to deny its artificiality by adding in lots of 'profound' dialogue but there are many points in the film where it comes off as very superficial. It's a bit like a New Romantic pop video.
- miss_lady_ice-853-608700
- Dec 6, 2010
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Sky Above Berlin
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,333,969
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $17,301
- May 1, 1988
- Gross worldwide
- $3,520,525
- Runtime2 hours 8 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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