Wings of Desire Literary Elements

Wings of Desire Literary Elements

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.

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