Wings Of Desire

[poliphilo]

I loved most of Wings of Desire, hated the ending. I thought the stuff about angels was mostly true, but the last fifteen minutes or so- in which the angel-turned-human experiences the wonders of romantic love- was false and sentimental. My disbelief in that ending is complicated by Bruno Ganz- who makes a very impressive angel- looking much less awesome as a human being. Would anybody fall in love- at first sight- with a stocky, badly-dressed little chap who looks irresistibly like the British comic actor Peter Butterworth?

I think that question answers itself.

Yes, I know, I know: I too have believed, have wanted to believe, have worked hard to convince myself to believe that romantic love is the be all and end all of of existence- but it really isn't. It's very nice, of course, worth experiencing- but there are deeper realities.

As any angel could tell you...