Wings of Desire

Year:  1987

Director:  Wim Wenders

Screenplay:  Wim Wenders, Peter Handke, Richard Reitinger

Starring:  Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois, Peter Falk

Running Time:  127 minutes

Genre:  Fantasy

West Berlin:  Two angels, Damiel (Ganz) and Cassiel (Sander), watch over the affairs of humans.  The immortal angels are able to hear the thoughts of humans, however they are physically unable to intervene, or even interact with the physical world, and remain invisible to humans, although some can sense their presence.  Suffering from existential angst over his immortal existence set apart from the physical plane, Daniel falls in love with trapeze artist Marion (Dommartin) and decides to renounce his angelic existence for a mortal, human life.

In the years since it's release this philosophical romantic fantasy has become seen as one of the classics of world cinema.  While the film is long, slow, and arguably pretentious, it is intriguing, often funny and ultimately becomes profoundly moving.  The film is visually impressive, most of it is in sepia tinged black-and-white, with sequences in colour, and brief flashes of vintage newsreel footage.  The locations in Berlin range from the more familiar tourist areas such as the Victory Column where the angels frequently gather at the top to observe human life, to more run-down and industrial areas of the city, as well as the Berlin Wall. We also follow the stories of various characters that the angels observe, including an elderly poet, a suicidal young man, and American actor Peter Falk (playing himself) who is filming a war movie in Berlin.  The film has some fantastic performances from Bruno Ganz and Solveig Dommartin in particular, and a warm, funny performance from Peter Falk.  The film also gives a glimpse of life in West Berlin in the years immediately before reunification, including a look at the underground rock clubs with a cameo from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.  It is really more a film about a city than about angels.  It is interesting how little traditionally angelic imagery is used, the angels have wings that appear occasionally, but usually appear as normal humans in long overcoats, and there are no references to Heaven or God.  The angels with their ability to pass over the city and hear thoughts provide an insight into the city and the people who live there.  Ultimately it becomes a celebration of the small, transient joys and pains of life, and the beauty of existence.  The film was followed by a sequel Faraway, So Close! (1993) and was remade in 1997 as City of Angels, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan.  

Bruno Ganz in Wings of Desire

Husbands

Year of Release:  1970

Director:  John Cassavetes

Screenplay:  John Cassavetes

Starring:  Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes

Running Time:  140 minutes

Genre:  Comedy drama

Following the death of a mutual friend, three middle-aged New York family men: Harry (Gazzara), Archie (Falk) and Gus (Cassavetes) indulge in a days long binge of heavy drinking and soul-searching, including an impromptu trip to London.

John Cassavetes is possibly most familiar as an actor in Hollywood films such as The Dirty Dozen (1967), Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Fury (1978), but his most important legacy rests with the groundbreaking independent films he made as director, writer and sometime actor.  After making a name with his directorial debut Shadows (1959), Cassavetes had his first sizeable success with Faces (1968), which allowed hims some studio backing for Husbands.  While Cassavetes came up with the film's story and scenes, the dialogue and action came out of long improvisation sessions with his fellow actors, and Gazzara, Falk and Cassavetes' characters were more or less based on the actors themselves.  The basic plot of Husbands, three guys go out on a booze filled bender for days on end, could apply to any number of comedies, both good and bad, but few go as dark as this does.  This is a film defined by absence.  It starts with a series of still snapshots of a barbecue or pool party where Gus, Harry and Archie are clowning around with their families and their friend Stuart, whose funeral opens the main action of the film.  We never learn anything about Stuart, but it seems as if he was the lynchpin that kept the gang together.  The other three spend the film seeming unmoored, and despite being very similar, they don't seem to like each other very much.  Also, despite the film's title, we never see much of their family lives.  Harry's wife appears briefly and they have a violent argument, and we see Gus' children, played by Cassavetes' own children Nick and Alexandra, but we see nothing of Archie's family.  It is hard to sympathise entirely with this pretty unpleasant trio of middle-aged, middle-class white guys who are creepy, mocking, violent or rude to almost any woman unlucky enough to cross their path.  Following Stuart's funeral they ride the subway, have an impromptu late-night basketball game and get drunk and sing in a bar, when it comes time for them to go to work and spend some time with their families, the three shoot off to London to drink, go to casinos and pick up women (including Jenny Runacre).  This is a tough film to watch, and it's often very uneven.  It's sometimes profound, often dull, sometimes cruel and occasionally funny.  It all ends on a very inconclusive note.

Peter Falk, John Cassavetes and Ben Gazzara are Husbands

The Princess Bride

Year of Release:  1987
Director:  Rob Reiner
Screenplay:  William Goldman, based on the book The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Starring:  Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage, Peter Falk
Running Time:  94 minutes
Genre:  Fantasy, adventure, comedy

In the magical land of Florin, young farmhand Westley (Elwes) must battle villains and magic to rescue his true love, Princess Buttercup (Wright), from the evil Prince Humperdink (Guest).

This is a genuinely magical film, which works as a fairy-tale and as a spoof of fairy tales.  It's funny throughout and full of endlessly quotable dialogue ("Hello.  My name is Inigo Montaya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.").  It features great action, particularly the impressive dueling sequences.  It also has great, funny performances, including cameos from a number of well-known comedians (such as Mel Smith, Peter Cook, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane).  The film also has a fun post-modern element with the story being framed as a fairy-tale that a grandfather (Falk) is reading to his ill grandson (Savage) who would rather be playing videogames.  The movie balances it's various elements perfectly with the comedy working along with the romance and the fantasy adventure, and none of them drowning out the others.   Even for people who don't like fairy-tales, like the grandson, it's almost impossible not to get swept up in this hilarious magical adventure that is just as much fin for adults as it is for children.

Robin Wright and Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride