Modern Cities and Intellectuals

Kameron 2022-04-22 07:01:32

"Berlin Under the Sky" is a film about modern cities and intellectuals. Taking modern life as the surface, it browses the reconstructed Berlin city and various lives in the city, and compares the contemporary intellectuals' perception of the postmodern world. A sense of alienation clings to it.

The central narrative assumption of the film is the existence of angels. This hypothesis is presented and enriched through several narratives and images: apart from children, angels cannot have any physical contact and contact with real-life individuals, they are invisible, odorless, tasteless and touchless; between angels Can talk to each other, ordinary people can't hear their conversations; Angels have mind-reading skills and can hear the inner monologues of ordinary people; The world of angels is black and white; Angels appeared before the birth of human beings, and they have been bystanders of human society The change. With the help of the above means, the film actually presents the real society as a world of self-talk, autism, no communication and paleness, which actually symbolizes the alienation of individuals in modern society. The angle from which angels observe society and their inability to participate in real life are the typical living conditions and thinking content of European intellectuals after World War II.

In the process of constantly wandering in Berlin, the angel gradually became curious about a circus actress, resulting in a strong will to enter life; later, he finally entered the colorful real world and found a female Actor, after a long period of philosophical dialectical dialogue, the actress "brought the self into her body", the two put aside their fear of the future and uncertainty, and came together with the present as eternity. However, this narrative is different from the average melodrama, and the angel does not officially enter life and develop his love until about two-thirds of the film's length. This is completely different from the handling of the later remake of "City of Angels", which maintains more stream of consciousness and philosophical thinking, and does not organize the film around the core narrative.

Beyond the main characters and core narrative, Under the Berlin Sky can be seen as a documentary about Berlin in the style of an urban symphony. Through the assumption of angels, the film allows a dialogue between the city's past and reality. The comparison between the ruins after World War II and the prosperity in reality shows the uncertainty of "phase" in the sense of Buddhist philosophy. This space on site is characterized and linked. In addition, the film also highlights the two urban spaces of the library and the circus. The library is represented as a quiet, bright, high-contrast religious place, where the modern knowledge depends on the operation of modern society; The circus, on the other hand, is a temporary pyramid-shaped shed with a fluid character, a place of revelry and entertainment, which, together with discos, demonstrates the self-indulgence of modern life. These two spaces form a contrast in multiple angles, representing the living conditions of two different modern cities, and enriching the connotation of the modern city of Berlin.

View more about Wings of Desire reviews

Extended Reading
  • Meaghan 2022-01-01 08:01:42

    In all existence, I found my true self.

  • Deondre 2022-03-27 09:01:10

    The final subtitle pays tribute to Yasujiro Ozu, Truffaut, and Tarkovsky, calling them angels who landed on the mortal world, which makes the story become another meaning. The artist is the ferryman between the solitary rationality and the lively world.

Wings of Desire quotes

  • Homer, the aged poet: [inner voice] Tell me, muse, of the storyteller who has been thrust to the edge of the world, both an infant and an ancient, and through him reveal everyman. With time, those who listened to me became my readers. They no longer sit in a circle, bur rather sit apart. And one doesn't know anything about the other. I'm an old man with a broken voice, but the tale still rises from the depths, and the mouth, slightly opened, repeats it as clearly, as powerfully. A liturgy for which no one needs to be initiated to the meaning of words and sentences.

  • Marion: [inner voice] Longing. Longing for a wave of love to swell up in me. That's what makes me so clumsy: the lack of pleasure. A desire to love. The desire to love!