Bilkent Cinematics will be screening Wim Wenders’s 1987 masterpiece “Wings of Desire” on Thursday, November 28, at 6 p.m. in FB309; a discussion of the film will follow.
“Wings of Desire” is a uniquely life-affirming reflection on the human experience, as well as a gorgeous visual time capsule. Today, it has been 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, and it is sometimes hard to remember what the world was like back then. The film is set in the city of Berlin, which was the most dramatic manifestation of the global division at the time.
“Wings of Desire” is the story of an angel, played by Bruno Ganz, who falls in love with a trapeze artist and decides that he wants to turn in his wings and become human. The angels in this film are not visible to people; their job is to be a kind of hidden witness and listen to the inmost thoughts and desires of the people of Berlin.
Shot largely in black and white by famed French cinematographer Henri Alekan, we see Berlin’s beautiful landscape through the eyes of two angels. Wenders’s wide, panning shots, combined with Alekan’s gorgeous monochrome and Austrian novelist Peter Handke’s script, full of passages of lyric poetry, along with a surprise appearance by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, make this film a feast for the soul. A widely acclaimed, timeless classic, it won numerous awards upon its release, including Best Director for Wenders at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.
As with all Cinematics film screenings, the movie will be shown in English, with English subtitles; everyone is welcome to attend, and snacks and beverages will be served.
Contact Hossein Dabir at dabir@bilkent.edu.tr for more details.