Tuesday 24 February 2009

Der Himmel über Berlin,

Films don’t tend to keep their name when they are translated into English. One German film that was very well received was Der Himmel über Berlin, which became Wings of Desire. Set in '80s Berlin, the German title gives a clue to the story. It is about angels looking down on the city who become mortal and one of the stars of this film is Peter Falk, whom you may well remember as Columbo. He plays the part of an angel who becomes mortal and happens to be Peter Falk, so there is some English in the film. You will also hear a little bit of French.

What struck me when I watched it was the power of colour film. When filmed from the point of view of the angels it is in black and white, which struck me as melancholic. It was sad to see that the angels could not play a full part in life on earth, but the purpose of this blog is to give you the motivation to learn German. Well you are bound to come across words for colours. Revise them before you watch it and you won’t need the subtitles for at least one scene. Another theme that runs through the film is das Lied vom Kindsein. Listen out for 'als das Kind Kind war, ging es mit hängenden Armen...' You may even want to read the song before you watch the film. Just search the internet. There is also a bonus for Nick Cave fans as you get to see him sing. Enjoy the film.

Bis bald

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