This movie is one of my favoritest ever, and possibly the one I have seen the most times, before Lord of the Rings came along. It is actually a remake of a German movie by director Wim Wenders, "Wings of Desire" - a rather stupid "translation" of the original title, which reads "The sky/heaven above Berlin".

It is the story of an angel that falls in love with a human woman, and gives up his angel-ness and immortality for her. The Hollywood version rather successfully translates the action from the divided Berlin of the mid-eighties, to a 1990's Los Angeles, and Wender's circus artist is turned into a heart chirurgian, played by Meg Ryan. The American version, thankfully, also gets rid of a lot of the cluttering dialogue and voice-over of the German original.
Seth, the angel, has the job of guiding the just-died souls to heaven, and when he waits for the soul of the patient that Meg Ryan's character is about to loose, he is impressed and moved by the fervency with which she fights for this completely unknown person's life - vainly, of course, since the Angel of Death is already waiting.

The painting plays on the ambibuity of Seth's character - he is the Angel, the creature of God who by definition can only do good deeds, help and protect and comfort people, and he is Meg's enigmatic, understanding friend and then lover, but he is also the Angel of Death, and becomes that for her in the end. Meg, the human, is painted in a hot orange, contrasting her living warmth with the spectral coldness and insubstantiality of the Angel, but her warmth reflects on him. The gesture with which he holds her is also ambivalent - is it protective, sensual or slightly threatening? Is he making love to her, or telling her it is time to go on to the next life?

© 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Asni

all artwork © Asni

last updated: 1 February, 2005