{"id":29454,"date":"2011-07-01T15:27:30","date_gmt":"2011-07-01T15:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/theanchoress\/?p=29454"},"modified":"2017-03-06T16:27:00","modified_gmt":"2017-03-06T16:27:00","slug":"missing-peter-falk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/2011\/07\/01\/missing-peter-falk\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing Peter Falk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I knew that Peter Falk<\/strong> was an actor who often improvised, as his often powerful work with John Cassavetes attests, but I was still surprised to learn, first, that Falk was in Wim Wenders\u2019 Wings of Desire<\/em> and second, that Falk largely improvised his role.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Joseph Susanka discusses it all, here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

For me, however, the single most thought-provoking performance of his long and highlight-laden career will always be \u201cDer Filmstar,\u201d from Wim Wenders\u2019 ethereal meditation, Wings of Desire (Der Himmel \u00fcber Berlin).<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s premise, while theologically problematic<\/em>, is a fascinating one: Damiel (the incomparable Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels whose sole mission is to wander the streets of West Berlin watching over its inhabitants. But these are no ordinary guardian angels: Damiel and Cassiel (indeed, all angels) are forbidden from directly interfering with the lives of the humans they are observing. While their presence can sometimes influence events in an oblique way\u2014in one of the film\u2019s more powerful scenes, Damiel brings comfort to a dying motorist by placing an imperceptible hand on his forehead\u2014their role is primarily that of a witness. \u201cDo no more than look,\u201d Cassiel reminds his companion. \u201cAssemble, testify, preserve. Remain spirit. Keep your distance.\u201d
\n[\u2026]
\nWeaving in, out, and around this story and its unlikely protagonists is Falk\u2019s \u201cDer Filmstar,\u201d a relatively small yet crucial character. His presence is unexplained and he is never even named, yet as the only adult in the city of Berlin who can actually see the angels, his character is essential to Wenders\u2019 efforts. Through him, the film is able to meld the angelic and human realms, providing audiences with a common point of reference between the two. It is he who provides Damiel with the guidance and encouragement necessary to face his dilemma.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read it all.<\/strong> Once again Susanka makes me want to see a film<\/strong><\/a> I\u2019d pretty much dismissed.<\/p>\n

I always did like the U2 video for \u201cFaraway, So Close\u201d which is almost like an encapsulation of Wings of Desire<\/em>, though:<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=o2EW9RM2LGA<\/a>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I knew that Peter Falk was an actor who often improvised, as his often powerful work with John Cassavetes attests, but I was still surprised to learn, first, that Falk was in Wim Wenders\u2019 Wings of Desire and second, that Falk largely improvised his role. Joseph Susanka discusses it all, here For me, however, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[294,303,331,4906],"class_list":["post-29454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-angels","tag-art","tag-cinema","tag-tv"],"yoast_head":"\nMissing Peter Falk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I knew that Peter Falk was an actor who often improvised, as his often powerful work with John Cassavetes attests, but I was still surprised to learn,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/2011\/07\/01\/missing-peter-falk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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