The Criterion Collection is putting out one of its gorgeous editions of my favorite movie about angels. (No, it's not It's a Wonderful Life although that's terrific too.)
It's German director Wim Wenders' pensive, brooding, elegaic Wings of Desire, a poem of a movie that tells the story of an angel come to earth in Berlin, who falls in love with a beautiful circus performer.
Bruno Ganz is heartbreaking as the angel, and Peter Falk puts in a surprising, gentle turn as himself. To say any more would ruin this slow-moving, visually enchanting film for the first-time viewer. I never saw the American remake, City of Angels, with Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan, so I don't know how they compare. But I can recommend the German film with all my heart.
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