Ich bin ein Berliner

Wings of desire (1987)

This is one of the few films that has immediately made an impression on my state of mind. This film is so stunning that words cannot really describe the feelings of awe and adoration for the film and the city and era it portrays. I think the connection comes due being a teenager, therefor having a sense of distance from childhood, yet like the characters in the film, retain an innocence to the routine of adult life. The film is poetic through its script and its lyrical beauty of combining the heavens and mortality in a rich black and white film.

Berlin seems idyllic with its raw creativity and potential. Bombed spaces and disused areas give a beautiful backdrop in which to convey a calm solicitude. Berlin in 1987. The city is alive with rebellious culture due to the political constraints of cold-war society. The wall hinders free movement and is imposing yet the artistic graffiti corrodes the wall as a symbol of authority like a disease. Yet still capitalist West Berlin is separated from the waning communist east.

Bruno Ganz (Hitler in Downfall) creates a character who is extremely complex in beliefs and attitude towards life and whether his position as an immortal angel constrains or enriches his resolve. With a teddy bear-esque enthusiasm he surveys the city and gives a warm touch to those in need. In my mind he has a unconventional handsomeness which elevates him to a position of strength and legitimacy. His long rich cotton winter coat (the preferred outfit of the angels) gives a sense of anonymity as they blend into the hollowed out Berlin.

The film is extremely musical although its not its ultimate priority. As previously described, the poetic script could be seen as spoken word, and for once, the German language is as flowing and dulcet as french, and has a melodic intonation as varied as English is perceived to have. More obviously the actual soundtrack feels so perfect its holy.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds feature as themselves in a scene where the two  lovers (Bruno Ganz as the angel Damiel and Solvieg Donmartin as Marion) meander through the amazingly 80s crowd at the amazingly raw concert. The live energy delivered by Nick Cave is electrifying despite being shot in solemn black and white. Another scene where the two characters are transposed onto a idea of heaven makes me think of a Kate Bush music video.

After watching the behind the scenes, it has exposed me to an alternative kind of creativity. Director Wim Wenders prompted the idea that this story was thought up after a near death experience involving an overdose whilst frivolously experimented with hash-brownies.

The correlation in a way gives some further depth to the story to know it is influenced by real circumstances.

This modern fairytale is lusciously symbolic and this ensures that repeated viewings is required - which is certainly a bonus. Moreover, the film acts as a time capsule for the underground rock scene of Berlin, which luckily has of yet escaped being affected by cheesy nostalgia.

Wings of Desire really is too divine to put into words - when watching, if in the right mood, it almost becomes a numinous experience.

The Secret Communist State in a Bedroom

Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)

This German film is unique and succeeds in its quirky portrayal of tragic and momentous events, some which define a young mans life, others define the 20th Century. The story is quite far- fetched, but yet it is not outrageous. The comedic aspect of the film relieves the cynicism one might have for the strange plot; a mother, and a devout communist, has a heart attack when she sees her son protesting for easy crossing into the enemy state on the other side of the Berlin Wall. This puts her in a coma, sleeping through the swift deformation of all that she believes in. To prevent his mother having another heart-attack from the shock of seeing the effects, the loss of her socialist fatherland, the son Alex recreates the oppressive regime in the secret, and safety of a bedroom.


There is not much dramatization of the footage, the pulse-raising footage come from old newsreels of exultation as the wall collapses, or rocket launches or bombastic troops marching in true soviet style. Sentimentality was a pleasant addition as subplots of the familial longing for the lost father, or the pure love of mother and son. There is suspenseful tension when the bedridden mother nearly catches glimpses of western infiltration - a zeppelin advertising greetings from the west and Coca Cola trucks rolling past. There are awkward moments of an old socialist reunion for the mothers' birthday party where ex Young Pioneers are paid to sing drab pompous old communist songs of progress, plus scenes where tv news reels faked in the studio of Alex's friend are watched by the mother who is ignorant to the untruths conveyed - whilst Alex hopes that she stays that way. The lies in the media were a fervent feature of communism yet Alex doesn't realise he is acting similarly to General Secretaries of the Party like Khrushchev or Gorbachev.

Germany in the film is shown to be a new hotbed of culture. After having recently vising the country for a history trip, seeing the colourful yet bleak architecture juxtaposed against the weather-worn, gaudy Gothic architectural relics was visually interesting. This echos the film - there are bursts of bright colour in the furniture and fashion despite being backed by towering council blocks. Especially the Wall, as seen in the film, the youth cultures of Berlin thrived off it as a art space for political graffiti, even though they had the potential to be apprehended by Stasi Police if an 'Ossi (someone from the East)'.

Alex's eyes are opened when he meets Lara, a young nurse, who introduces him to West Berlin club culture. A riot of clashing techno sounds and men on basses in mechanical costumes emerge. The knowledge that families deserted Berlin apartments when they escaped to the West opens up a massive opportunity to young adults to commandeer the houses. Next, ensues a life of spontaneous fun, living off the explosive culture, unfamiliar to East Berliners.

It is hard to really understand the elation or disappointment when two halves of a city merge after only 40 Years of being apart. Families would be reunited and risk of escaping for freedom would dissolve. The influx of something they had been indoctrinated to believe was dangerous (capitalism and a crazed consumerist society) is hard for some to comprehend. It was a strange time only to be fully appreciated if you were a Berliner in the 1990s only 20 years ago.

Very good if your studying the cold war for GCSE like me ;) so ****