Podcast Summary: New Books Network — "Wings of Desire"

Date: December 8, 2025
Hosts: Mike & Dan
Episode Theme:
A passionate deep dive into Wim Wenders’ iconic film Wings of Desire (1987), exploring the film’s ethereal tone, themes of observation and humanity, the nature of angels in cinema, love, perception, and the union of spirit with the material world. This episode is a listener-requested film discussion, filled with thoughtful analysis, memorable moments, and philosophical musings, delivered in the engaging, collegial style of the hosts.

Episode Overview

Mike and Dan, co-hosts of "15 Minute Film Fanatics" (a feature on New Books Network), discuss Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987), a film renowned for its haunting beauty and philosophical richness. Responding to a listener request, they unpack the film’s legacy, consider its approach to spirituality and materiality, and reflect on the lasting impressions it leaves on its viewers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. First Impressions & Context

• Mike’s Introduction:
  • The film is often cited as a "secret favorite" among cinephiles—a movie that lingers in memory and reminds viewers why they love cinema (02:00–02:44).
• Dan’s Overview of Expressionism:
  • "This is high expressionism. You gotta be in the mood for it. It's more like a painting than a movie..." (03:09)
  • The film’s narrative is slight ("angel falls in love with a human"), but its real substance is in the experience and emotion it evokes rather than the plot (03:30–03:56).

2. Angels in Cinema & the Unique Role Here

• Angels as Passive Recorders:
  • Contrasts classic ‘helpful’ movie angels (Clarence, Cary Grant) with Wenders’ more passive observers.
  • "Here... what’s interesting about it, which you catch on to about half an hour to the movie: they can't do anything. Their job is just to watch." — Dan (04:11)
  • Angels are likened to anthropologists, recording field notes, unable to intervene (04:45–05:16).
• Visual Metaphors:
  • The persistent use of coats on angels is symbolic of their otherness and discomfort in the world (05:00).
  • Cinematic technique: Angel’s point-of-view shots engage the viewer in their act of affectionate observation (05:30–06:17).

3. Impression over Narrative: How the Movie Lingers

• Recording Angels, Recording Camera:
  • Mike draws a parallel between the role of the recording angel and the camera: "The ultimate recording angel is a camera... As a dolly slides through a scene and records it, it both is recording something that is happening, but the recording itself is an impression of creation." (08:32)
  • The movie privileges images and emotional impressions over traditional narrative structure (07:22–07:38).

4. Berlin as a Kind of Purgatory

• Setting & Mood:
  • The city is depicted as a melancholic limbo, full of isolated, yearning individuals ("solitary flags everywhere") (09:42–11:02).
  • The gestures toward transcendence: Frequent upward glances at sky and planes; the trapeze artist as the only real escapee, embodying both flight and longing (11:00–11:45).

5. The Sacramental View: Sensation and Everyday Wonder

• Transformation & Humanity:
  • Dan highlights the scene where Damiel becomes human: "He wants a cup of coffee. That's the first thing he wants. And you think, like, of all the things you can want, that's what—a cup of coffee. But of course, that's exactly what you would want." (12:03–12:33)
  • The shift from black-and-white to color as metaphor for lived, sensory experience (12:33).
  • Mike references an old conversation about "the sacramental view" of life: small, tactile details ("feeding the cat," "having a fever," "getting ink on your fingers") are what make existence sacred (14:33–14:50).
  • Only children and Peter Falk can see the angels—children because they are newly alive and haven’t dulled their senses to ordinary wonder (14:54–16:48).

6. Key Scenes & Directorial Choices

• Trapeze Artist Scene:
  • Mike’s favorite moment is when the everyday is suddenly lifted into wonder as the trapeze artist is spun in the air—"the only image that's suitable for the human experience... is something that looks commonplace... but it can suddenly explode into wonder at any time" (18:49–19:07).
  • The film cleverly earns its 'magical' realism by rooting these moments in mundane reality, punctuated by wonder (18:49–19:41).

7. Thematic Deep Dive: Fallenness, Spirit, and Material

• "Fallenness" As Choice:
  • Mike explores the idea of angels falling not as tragedy but as embrace of limitation, sensation, and connection (19:46–20:41).
  • He outlines how, unlike the Gnostic framework (where materiality is inferior to spirit), Wenders’ film suggests the beauty and fulfillment found in uniting the two: "...the right marriage of a spiritual and material desire is actually the fulfillment of the plan, and it's the only hope for humanity." (22:27–22:42)
• The Cup of Coffee as Sacrament:
  • An emblem of simple, physical pleasure standing for the glory of sensation (22:43–22:59).
• Love as the Bridge:
  • The film’s vision of love: true amazement at the other—"my amazement at man and woman has turned me into a human being" (23:45).

8. Black-and-White vs. Color

• Sensory Awakening:
  • The transition to color in the film is a visual articulation of a life fully lived, of sensation and engagement (24:25–24:55).
  • Only after experiencing color can one appreciate what was missing in the black-and-white world.

9. Redemption Through Wonder and Connection

• Getting Out of Purgatory:
  • Dan claims, "We are not amazed by other people... But the movie seems to suggest that if we could be amazed by other people, that's one way to get out of purgatory... and that's how you get out of Berlin." (25:27–26:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It's more like a painting than a movie, you know, the way a tone poem is more like whatever a tone poem is than a song." — Dan (03:09)
• "Their job is just to watch. They're like sending field notes back to God or something..." — Dan (04:11)
• "This is a movie... it has no momentum. Because it has no momentum, each image just kind of sits with you the same way as though you were sitting in front of it." — Mike (07:15–07:22)
• "The ultimate recording angel is a camera..." — Mike (08:32)
• "It's a love letter to the human experience." — Mike (09:37)
• "Berlin is purgatory. That's exactly what it is. It's not hell because there's flashes of joy... but it's purgatory." — Dan (09:42)
• "He wants it. He explains a lot of times... all the things he wants. And he says... it'll be great to come home after a long day and feed the cat, like Philip Marlo...or to have a fever or to get your fingers black from the newspaper." — Dan (13:02)
• "That's the sacramental view of the world... these moments are there and they're constantly thrown in your path, but it's up to you to see them." — Dan (14:33–14:50)
• "The only image that's suitable for the human experience here is something that looks commonplace... but it can suddenly explode into wonder at any time and do things that you can't do." — Mike (19:07)
• "The right marriage of a spiritual and material desire is actually the fulfillment of the plan, and it's the only hope for humanity." — Mike (22:27–22:42)
• "We are not amazed by other people. But the movie seems to suggest, just suggest that if we could be amazed by other people, that's one way to get out of purgatory... that's how you get out of Berlin." — Dan (25:57)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Listener Request — 01:47–02:40
• First Impressions (Expressionism, Angels) — 03:09–06:17
• Movie’s Structure & Lingering Effect — 06:17–07:59
• The Camera as Recording Angel — 08:32–09:42
• Berlin and Purgatory, Library Symbolism — 09:42–11:57
• Key Scenes: Damiel Becomes Human — 12:03–14:50
• The Sacramental View, Sensory Experience — 14:33–16:48
• Trapeze Artist/Everyday Wonder — 17:45–19:41
• Ending & Thematic Synthesis — 19:46–26:00

Final Reflection

This episode delivers a rich, thoughtful analysis of Wings of Desire, framing it as a meditation on the sacredness of everyday life, the beauty and pain of being human, and the redemptive power of amazement and love. The hosts navigate film analysis, philosophy, and personal anecdote seamlessly, inviting listeners to reflect not just on the movie, but on their own perception of joy in ordinary moments.

For more discussions, follow Dan’s "Pages and Frames" and Mike’s "The Grumbler's Almanac" on Substack.