"To Be Continued." History in Wim Wenders`s Wings of Desire" and

German Studies Association
"To Be Continued." History in Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire" and Thomas Brasch's
"Domino"
Author(s): Christian Rogowski
Source: German Studies Review, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Oct., 1992), pp. 547-563
Published by: German Studies Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1430367
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1
"To Be Continued." History in Wim
Wenders's Wings of Desire and Thomas
Brasch'sDomino
Christian Rogowski
Amherst College
"Berlinist das letzte.Der Rest ist Vorgeschichte.SollteGeschichte
stattfinden,wirdBerlinder Anfangsein."
-Heiner Muller
ThomasBrasch'sDomino(1982) andWimWenders'sWingsof Desire
(DerHimmeliiberBerlin,1987) arefilms aboutpresent-dayBerlinas a site of
history.Thereare manyaspectsthatlink the two cinematicinvestigationsof
historicalmemory:both films are highly complex and enigmaticaesthetic
constructs.
Bothfeatureexquisiteblack-and-white
(sometimes
cinematography
with
In
both
the
of
historical
color).
films,
alternating
memory
investigation
takes the form of an homage to a beloved woman, KatharinaThalbach
(Brasch'sLisa)andSolveigDommartin(Wenders'sMarion).'Moreover,both
filmsarehighlyself-reflectivein theirmultiplethematizationof art,literature,
theater,andfilm making.Butmostimportantof all, the two filmsseem to me
to encapsulatespecificmomentsin Germanhistory.I amproposingto view the
two films from the perspectiveof WalterBenjamin'snotion of historyas
expressedin his"Theseson theConceptof History"of 1940to whichtheyseem
to be indebtedand to which,for reasonsoutlinedbelow,they offer different
responses.
Siegessdule
In Walter Benjamin's recollections Berliner Kindheit um
Neunzehnhundertof
1934 oneof thelesserknownlandmarksof Berlinassumes
a prominentrole:thestatueof thegoddessofvictory,knownasthe"Siegessaule."
Themonumentdepictsan angelrestingon ornamentswroughtfromthemelted
metalof canonsusedin theFranco-Prussian
warof 1870-71.2To Benjamin,the
statueof theangelevokesthepatrioticcelebrationsof thedecisivedefeatof the
548
GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW
French at Sedan. In Benjamin's memories, the monument is associated with
premonitions of the end of history:
Was konnte denn nach Sedan kommen? Mit der Niederlage der
Franzosenschien die Weltgeschichte in ihrglorreichesGrabgesunken,
iiber dem diese Saule die Stele war und auf das die Siegesallee
miindete.3
The "Siegessaule" commemorates both the triumphs of Prussia and the
unification of the German"Kaiserreich"in 1871. Benjamin,writing in his exile
in France, situates the German patriotic emblem at the graveside of history,
where it marks the fears associated with the resurgence of nationalism in the
form of Germanfascism. At one point in Thomas Brasch'sfilm Domino of 1982,
the protagonists Lisa (played by KatharinaThalbach) and Zollner (played by
HannsZischler)find themselves ridingaroundthe "Siegessaule"on a motorbike.
In the wintry night, the statue assumes a gloomy and overpowering presence.
In the harsh topography of Cold War Berlin, "Siegesallee,"the boulevard that
leads to the monument, is truncatedby the Berlin Wall, leaving the characters
to encircle the symbolic site in a gesture of stagnation. Five years later, the
"Siegessaule"is one of the resting places of the angels that populate the skies
in Wim Wenders's film Wingsof Desire.4
Wenders's film of 1987, cowritten with Peter Handke, offers a
compelling view of Berlin as a city in which the present reflects constellations
of the German past.5 In many ways, it is reminiscent of Brasch's film. While
Wim Wenders is acclaimed internationally as one of the most important
directorsof the New GermanCinema, the films of Thomas Brasch,the poet and
playwright from the GDR, who came to West Germany in the wake of the
Biermann affair in 1976, are little known even among specialists on German
film.
So far Thomas Brasch has directed three full-length feature films,
which are closely interrelatedwith the work of Wim Wenders. The first film
EngelausEisenof 1981 examines the activities of a criminalgang in the political
chaos surroundingthe Berlin blockade of 1948-49. It is based on an actual
criminal case, that of the so-called Gladow gang led by Werner Gladow, a
young petty thief, and Gustav Volpel, a former Nazi hangman. The "angels of
iron"of the title are the supply planes that ensure the economic survival of the
western part of Berlin. These "angels" make possible the short moment of
anarchicwish fulfillmentfor a groupof would-be gangsters.When the blockade
is lifted, order is restored,signalling the returnof a repressiveregime ofjustice.
The book version of the film stresses the connection between the disappearance
of the supply planes and the restorationof order:a postscriptevokes the legends
surroundingWerner Gladow, who was sentenced to death in 1950. The text
ChristianRogowski
549
endswiththe descriptionof a gestureof LucieGladow,Werner'smother,who
is saidto pointto the emptyskiesoverBerlin.It is likelythatthisreferenceto
the "leerenHimmeliiberBerlin"6
inspired,at leastin part,the Germantitle of
Wenders'sDerHimmeliiberBerlin.7
Brasch'ssecond film Dominoof 1982 centersarounda successful
actress who undergoesa psychologicalcrisis as the safe mooringsof her
professionalexistenceslipawayamidstsignsof an impendingwar.Alongside
HannsZischler,the actorwho playedthe protagonistof Wenders'sfirstfulllengthfilm Summerin theCity(1970) andof his laterImLaufderZeit(Kings
of theRoad,1975),it featuresBernhardWicki,who was to play in Wenders's
Paris,Texasin 1983. Brasch'sthirdfilm Der Passagier:Welcometo Germany
(1988),createdin collaborationwithwriterJurekBecker,followsanAmerican
survivorof the Holocaustwho returnsto Germanyto directa film aboutthe
circumstancesof his own escapefromthedeathcamps.LikeWenders'sWings
of Desire,in whichPeterFalkplaystheroleof anAmericandetectivein a filmit pitsan internationally
knownAmericanactor,TonyCurtis,
within-the-film,
againsta cast composedmainlyof Germanplayers.Wenderswas involvedas
an artisticadviserin this film project,whichoccupiedBraschfor over three
yearsfrom 1985 to 1988 andwhichwas coproducedby Wenders'scompany
"RoadMovies."8
Engel
The skiesoverBerlinin WimWenders'sfilm Wingsof Desireof 1987
are populatedwithangelsthatevoke not only Rilke'sDuinoElegies,9butalso
the writingsof WalterBenjamin.Towardsthe beginningof the film,whenthe
angelsDamielandCassielvisitthe library,theyhearamongthe manyinternal
voices of readersthe voice of a woman:
WalterBenjaminkaufte1921 PaulKleesAquarellAngelusNovus...
In seiner letzten Schrift Uber den Begriffder Geschichte(1940),
interpretierteer das Bild als Allegorie des Riickblicks auf die
Geschichte:10
As is well known,the angel depictedin Klee's pictureAngelusNovuswas
allegoricallyinterpreted
by Benjaminas the"angelof history"inhis ninththesis
on the conceptof history.1'In Wenders'sfilm,the Benjaminianassociationis
laterreinforcedvisually:at one point,Cassielunsuccessfullytriesto preventa
youngmanfromcommittingsuicide.DespiteCassiel'sefforts,the youngman
In a gestureof sympathy
jumpsfromthe top of WestBerlin's"Europacenter."
anddespair,Cassielis seento jumpfromthe statueof the "Siegesengel"
in the
mannerof the youngman.A nightmarishsequenceof quickimagesfollowsin
550
GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW
which short glimpses of moder urbanalienation (a tramp,a domestic quarrel,
a scared child, etc.) turninto documentary footage of air raids on Berlin. The
images are interspersed with views of Cassiel's distressed face and the
superimposedimage of the flapping wings of an angel.12The sequence is clearly
inspiredby Benjamin'sfamousdescriptionof the angelof historyin the ninth
thesis:
Wo eine Kettevon Begebenheitenvor unserscheint,da siehter eine
die unablassigTriimmeraufTriimmerhauftund
einzigeKatastrophe,
sie ihm vor die FiiBe schleudert.Er m6chte verweilen,die Toten
weckenunddas Zerschlagenezusammenfiigen.13
catastrophe.
Benjamin'sangelis confrontedwithhistoryas a self-perpetuating
whichpropelshim
Heis preventedfromrealizinghisdesireto helpby a "storm"
away from the scene of debris.I would argue that the explicitallusionsto
Benjamin'stheseson historyarea clearinvitationto readWenders'sfilm as a
whole as a kind of Benjaminianhistoricalallegory. Cassiel'sjump into
historicaldespairand Damiel'sdecisionto give up his statusas angel and
become humancan be seen as two responsesto the historicalpessimism
expressedby Benjamin.Wendersdoes not attemptto negatethe gravityof the
historicalsituation;in his Berlinthecurrentmalaiseis inextricablyintertwined
with the catastropheof Germanhistory.
ThomasBrasch'sfilm Dominolikewise portraysBerlinas a site of
historyin whichthe pastpermeatesthe present.The film beginswitha motto
takenfromthe beginningof RobertMusil'sshortnarrative"Grigia,"the first
novellain the collectionDreiFrauenof 1924:
Es gibt im Lebeneine Zeit, wo es sich auffallendverlangsamt,als
zogertees weiterzugehenoderwollteseineRichtungander. Es mag
sein,daBeinemin dieserZeit leichterein Unglick zustoBt.14
The quotationcreatesan atmosphereof impendingdisaster.At the beginning
of thefilm,LisasendsheryoungdaughterAgnesawayto spendtheChristmas
seasonat a ski resort.A bystanderspreadsrumorsaboutsecretgovernment
effortsto keepthe unemployment
figuresartificiallylow:the unemployedare
Theunidentified
supposedlycollectedatdetentioncampsinordertobedeported.
personclaimsto be informedaboutgovernmentsecretsof utmostsignificance:
Tatsachenund ... Dokumente,wies wirklichin Deutschlandheute
fiirwelche,diedasprivatkapitalistische
aussieht...Nervenheilanstalten
System nicht mehr aushalten.Hier in Deutschland.Wir sind ja n
Pufferstaat.Und daB die Amerikanern Krieg brauchen ... das ist mir
klar... 15
ChristianRogowski
551
The mottofromMusilandthe rantingsof the strangerputthe privatecrisisin
thelife of a successfulactressin a largerhistoricalandpoliticalperspective.The
framingpreventsusfromreadingthefilmmerelyas a psychologicalcase study.
The subsequentactionmakesit clearthatthe referenceto impendingdisaster
is not restrictedto the privateproblemsof Lisa,the protagonist.
Lisa is unsettledby a seriesof eventsthat she interpretsas ominous
of
signs an impendingcatastrophe,the kindof catastrophepredictedby the
unknownman.Aloneforthefirsttimein herlife,Lisalosesgripof reality.Her
key will no longeropen the door as she is tryingto leave her apartment.A
directorasksLisato give upherestablishedpositionandtojoin himin his risky
projectof revivinga run-downtheaterwitha productionof Goethe'sStella.An
aspiringplaywrightpestersLisa withhis theoriesof a "newaesthetics"in the
hope that she might help him see his play performed.Lisa is hauntedby
childhoodmemoriesin which her ambivalentfeelings towardsher mother,
herselfanactress,emerge.At thesametime,shebecomespreoccupiedwiththe
questionof whetherthedirectormayindeedbe herfather.Shehasa briefaffair
withthefriendof a fellow actress.HerindecisionabouttheStellaprojectleads
to the suicideof the old director.Lisawalksout of a performanceat herstatesubsidizedtheaterandtakesupresidencein thedeaddirector'sderelicttheater.
Severaltimes,she encountersa mysteriouscoalmanwho helplesslywanders
aroundin search of a street that does not exist.16The telegramdeliverer
enigmaticallyinsinuatesthatthis Christmasseasonmay be the last ever:
Meine Mutterhat zu mir gesagt:Das wird das letzte Weihnachten
uberhaupt.... VormletztenKriegwardas genauso,sagt sie.17
Lisa's psychologicaldisintegrationis signalledby her enteringthe
world evoked by the unknownbystander'sbizarretheories.The ominous
signalsculminatein a phantasmagorical
sequencein whichLisawalksthrough
the streetsof Berlinon thenightof New Year'sEve.Shemeetsa blackgirlwho
asksherto tradein herwarmjacketfor a hat.Lisaputson the hat andthe girl
comments"Jetztsiehste aus, als wenn du in den Krieggehst."'8The film's
black-and-whitecinematographydrawsthe viewer into Lisa's nightmarish
perceptionof a war that is alreadygoing on. As Lisa wandersaround,the
fireworksdisplaysindeedlook like explodinggrenadesandbombs.Towards
the end of the film, Lisa finds the place where the unemployedgatherand
watchesthe trekas they are led awayfor their"deportation"
In herpersonalcrisis,Lisa seemsto confrontan insightexpressedby
WalterBenjaminin his eighththesison the conceptof history:
GERMANSTUDIESREVIEW
552
Die Tradition der Unterdriicktenbelehrt uns dariiber,daB der
in dem wir leben,die Regel ist. Wirmiissenzu
'Ausnahmezustand',
einemBegriffderGeschichtekommen,derdem entspricht.19
Lisa'sfateis subjectto a numberof ironies:whileshemaysubjectively
be experiencingthe "stateof emergency"evokedby Benjamin,it is clearthat
she encounters
she belongsto a privilegedminority.Likewise,the"deportees"
a
in Brasch'sfilm, with theirfur coats and attachecases, are far cry from
Benjamin'soppressedmasses.Such ironiesmake the implicationsof Lisa's
experiencesall the more poignant,since the realizationof the catastrophic
natureof historyis shown to affect even those traditionallythoughtto be
immune:affluenceand social prestigeare revealedto be but vestigesthinly
concealingthepermanent"stateof emergency"thatpassesfornormalcy.Inher
Lisais farfrombeingableto graspthenatureof herexperience
disorientation,
conceptually.Yet, throughher experiences,the audienceis invitedto reach
conclusionssimilarto thoseevokedby Benjamin'sreflections.
In the contextof Benjamin'snotionof historyas a perpetualstateof
emergency,the film'stitleDominoresonateswithcomplexmeanings:it refers
to thegameplayedby Lisaandhermother,a gamethat,as Lisadiscovers,can
onlybe wonby cheating.AfterherbriefliaisonwithZollner,Lisaplaysa game
of dominoesby herself,reinforcingthe associationof the game with the
existentialquestionof controlover one'slife. A dominopiece is the tokenof
recognitionforthehordesof unemployedwhogathertobe deported.Moreover,
the film in its emphasison an impendingwar clearlyevokes the so-called
"dominotheory"thatdesignatesthe dangerinherentin militaryconflicts,the
dangerthat such conflictswould,in the contextof the tensionsbetweenthe
superpowers,inevitablylead to a globalcatastrophe.
Vorkriegszeit
HelenFehervarywas thefirstto pointto theaffinitybetweenBrasch's
aestheticpositionandBenjamin's"conceptof historyandcultureas explosion
ratherthancontinuity."20
Dominocan be seen as a filmicattemptto analyzea
moment in historywhich appearsto presage a renewedcatastrophe.It is
relativizedthroughtheperspectivism
createdby its focuson theperceptionsof
one woman.Brasch'sfilmfocusesupona historicalmomentin whichthepostwarerais turningintoa prewarera,a fearsharedbya largesegmentof theWest
Germanpopulationat the time the film was made.21Dominowas shot in
December 1981 and January1982. In October 1981, the largest peace
in the historyof WestGermanyhadtakenplacein Bonnin the
demonstration
contextof increasedtensionsoverthedeploymentof Americancruisemissiles.
Brasch'sfilmreflectstheatmosphereof widespreadconcernovertheincreased
Christian Rogowski
553
tensions in the Cold War between Reagan and Brezhnevover the so-called Star
Wars project.22
The main point of Brasch'sfilm, however, is not to lament the dangers
inherent in the escalating arms race. On December 13 and 14, 1981, Brasch
interruptedthe shooting of his film to participatein the "BerlinerBegegnung zur
Friedensf6rderung,"a meeting organized by writers in East Berlin. In his
address delivered there, Brasch argues against the tendency to view an
impending militaryconflict as a "Naturkatastrophe"and insists on the tangible
structuralreasons for the inevitability of military escalation:
Ich habe keinen Krieg erlebt. Ich habe einen Frieden erlebt, und dieser
Frieden war schrecklich. Dieser Frieden war kein Zustand, in dem
Leute in eine produktiveAuseinandersetzungmiteinandergekommen
sind, in dem sie Produktivitat und Kreativitat, Kennzeichen der
menschlichen Rasse, ausprobieren,die sozialen, psychologischen und
politischen Widerspriiche frei miteinander austragen konnten. Ich
habe den Zustand einer Lahmung erlebt, und dieser Zustand verdient
fur mich nicht die Bezeichnung "Frieden."23
Against the endeavor to establish a consensus among the participating
writersBraschadopts an uncompromisinganarchistposition:in suggesting that
the war is, as it were, already taking place, Brasch presents a radical critique of
the political and economic structures in which war is not an unfortunate
byproductof the conflicts between the two power blocs, but rathera necessary
effect of the existing political and economic systems. War is viewed as an
integral partof theirmodus operandi.It is significantthat Braschin his film does
not locate the danger of war in a conflict between the United States and the
Soviet Union. Rather, the focus is on the tensions within the capitalist system
itself: the ominous remarksof the random strangerat the beginning of Domino
evoke a connection between unemployment and militarism.His critique seems
to be directed mainly against the United States that is using West Germany as
a "Pufferstaat"in its own power game. Germans, the film suggests, may have
deluded themselves into believing to be living in a "Nachkriegszeit"which had
been a "Vorkriegszeit"all along.
Yet the real target of Brasch'scritiqueis not so much the United States
as a nation, but ratherthe political and economic system which it represents:the
recurring images of brightly lit wintry boulevards through which mindless
hordes rush to do their Christmas shopping highlight the alienating effects of
consumerism. The first of Lisa's nightmarishfantasies is that of being locked
in a department store. She cannot open the door to get out, just as she had not
been able to open the door of her apartment.Like much of Brasch's film, the
motif of being trapped in a consumerist "paradise" is associated with
554
GERMANSTUDIESREVIEW
materialfromBrasch'sown experience,in thiscase Brasch's
autobiographical
expulsionfrom the GDR to West Berlinin the middleof December1976.
Braschexpressedhis paradoxicalsituationin his poem"Schlimmer
Traum,"a
poem that ironicallyculminatesin the notionof havingbeen "insParadies
In an interviewin 1977, Braschdescribedhis political and
vertrieben."24
aestheticpositionas akinto somebodyobservingthe trafficwho is amazedly
asking himself "Wie lange kann das eigentlichnoch so weiter gehen?"25
Brasch'sbleakviewof capitalismis reminiscentof anideaexpressedbyWalter
Benjaminin his Passagenwerk:
istinderIdeederKatastrophe
DerBegriffdesFortschritts
zufundieren.
DaBes "soweiter"geht,ist die Katastrophe.
Sie ist nichtdasjeweils
Bevorstehendesonderndasjeweils Gegebene.26
Brasch'sfilm suggeststhat the catastropheis indeedalreadytaking
in a capitalist
place.Like Benjamin,Braschrejectsthe notionof"Fortschritt"
systemwhichentrapstheindividualinvapidconsumerismandwhoseeconomy
reststo a largeextenton theproductionof arms.Inthiscontext,Lisa'sunnerved
reactionat thequarrelbetweenLehrterandBrunkeovera newformof theater
takeson a poignantsignificance:
Der alte Antifaschistund der Jungemit der neuenAsthetikunterm
Arm.
Habtihrsnichtbegriffen:Das Alte geht nichtunddas Neue auch
nicht.27
Lisa'scommentsrefernot only to differentartisticvisionsbutalso to
conceptualmodels,includingideologicalpositions.Braschdoesnotattemptto
offeran alternativeto the stalematehis film describes.
Nachkriegszeit
Brasch'sand Wenders'sfilms investigatethe modalitiesof visual
Bothfilmsbeginwitha quasi-documentary
viewof urbanmelancholy:
perception.
theblack-and-white
cinematography
presentsmoder Berlinas a landscapeof
humandespairandisolation.Dominofocuseson the drabconsumerismof the
Christmasseasonbeforeconcentratingon the psychologicaldisintegration
of
its centralfigure,Lisathe actress.Wingsof Desiregives a panoramicseriesof
vignettesof urbanalienationbeforetheplotaroundthetwo angelsDamieland
Cassielis set in motion;at the beginningof the film,a varietyof aerialviews
of thecityanditsinhabitants
is interspersed
withtheshotof anisolatedeye.The
filmachievesthefeelof a documentary
onlifeinthecity,madebyanomniscient
observer.Thecameramovesswiftlyfromperceptionto perceptionto createthe
Christian Rogowski
555
effect of what Wenders calls an all-seeing gaze, an "idealen Blick."28
By way of contrast,the field of vision in Domino is radically restricted.
We first see Lisa as she is being photographed by a press photographer.We
share the public image of the actress by looking, as it were, through the
photographer'slens. As Lisa poses for the photographer,she is talking about her
plans for the Christmasseason, the first she is to spend alone. The tone is casual,
the unsteadycameraworkcreatingan impressionthatwe are watching newsreel
footage. This impression is enhanced as the camera focuses on the bystander
who catches Lisa's attention with his loudly proclaimed theories. It is the ideas
of this "manin the street,"filmed in a mannerreminiscentof a randominterview
during a public opinion poll, which will later contributeto the disintegrationof
Lisa's psyche as her perceptionof reality is increasinglydominated by a similar
kind of paranoia.
In various ways, both films highlight the endeavor to recordand depict
psycho-social reality in art: in Domino there are multiple forms of a selfthematization of the artistic process, ranging from the photographer taking
pictures of Lisa at the beginning of the film to extended debates about drama.
Lisa is shown performing the role of Lady Macbeth. Theater director Lehrter,
a former antifascist victim of the Nazi-regime, attempts to revive a run-down
theaterwith his productionof Goethe's Stella.29To Brunke,the young dramatist
eager for recognition, the present does not yield material for art. It is the duty
of the artist, he argues, to deal with the past repressed by the previous
generation:
Wenn die Alten nicht selber ihre Geschichten erzahlen ...
Einer muB es ja machen.30
Lisa replies "Und wer erzahlt dann unsre...," implying that there may not be
a generation to follow her own. Lehrter'ssuicide upon the failure of the Stella
project is another indication that the cultural climate of current Germany is
ultimately hostile to art:the old antifascist cannot gain a foothold in the new
society but is marginalized as a misanthropic outsider.
In Wingsof Desire, the thematization of art is initially centered on
writing. The first image we see is that of a hand writing the shortpoem "Als das
Kind Kind war" which is to appear in leitmotivic fashion at several points
throughoutthe film. The text evokes a childlike innocence. Spoken by Damiel,
it anticipates his desire to enter history,to experience life, to have a "childhood,"
both as a past and as a feeling of future possibilities. Throughout the film, the
angels listen to the thoughts of humans, recording moments of suffering and
self-assertion in their notebooks. The library is presented as a sanctuary of
memory, as a quasi-sacred space of mental activity.31Later,the filmic medium
itself is included in the thematization of art.An American film crew is engaged
556
GERMANSTUDIESREVIEW
in a film projectinvolvinga somewhatunlikelyplot about an American
detectivein wartimeBerlin.An old man,whomthe printedscriptidentifiesas
Homer,wandersaroundaimlessly,exhaustedand lonely.He reflectson the
possibilityof a narrativewhichcould give formto the collectiveexperience.
Whilethistaskis necessary,it is almostimpossible,bothbecauseof the weight
of historyandbecauseof the lack of an audiencereceptiveto his art.
Homer'sreminiscencesof Berlinsuggestthathe is conceivedof as a
Jewishrefugeewho has returnedto Germany.Like Brasch'sLehrter,he is a
victim of the Nazi regime,forced into exile and findingit difficult,if not
To Lehrter,thetraumaticpasthasbecome
impossible,to reintegratehimself.32
anobsession:he watchesoldfilmreelsof Germansoldierson theRussianfront
on a filmprojectorhe carrieswithhimall thetime.TheHomerof Wendersand
Handkeis likewisecaughtin contemplatingthe past.As he turnsthe pagesof
the
August Sander'sfamous photo book Menschendes 20. Jahrhunderts,33
picturesliterallycome aliveandturnintofootageof a bombingraidon Berlin.
Interestinglyenough,in Domino,the wartimefootageof Lehrter'sfilm is the
onlypartwhichis in color.Thistechniqueanticipatesthe useof colorin Wings
of Desire,wherecolorstockin partdesignatesmomentsof heightenedintensity
in reminiscencesof wartimeBerlin.Dominoremainsconfinedin thestagnation
expressedby the melancholyuse of black and white.34By way of contrast,
Wenders'sfilm changesto color to markDamiel'salteredexperienceonce
Damielhas shedhis angelicnatureandenteredhistoryas a humanbeing.35
Bothto Brasch'sLehrterandto Wenders'sHomerthepastis verymuch
alive.Lehrter'sfixationon thepastleadshimto conclude:"NachdemKriegda,
In Wingsof Desire,the old Homer
gibtsin diesemLandkeineKunstmehr."36
laments:
Nennemir,Muse,den armenunsterblichen
Singer,
der,von seinensterblichenZuhorern...
verlassen,die Stimmeverlor...
wie er vom Engel der Erzahlungzum unbeachtetenoderverlachten
LeiermanndrauBenan derSchwellezum Niemandslandwurde.37
Forlornandbereftof his audience,Homeris wanderingaroundin the
nearthedeath-stripin a dividedcityin searchof"Potsdamer
"no-man's-land"
Platz,"the bustlingcenterof the prewarmetropolis,a centerdestroyedby the
war.38Homeris left to ask:
Aber noch niemandemist es gelungen, ein Epos des Friedens
anzustimmen.Was ist dennam Frieden,daBer nichtauf die Dauer
begeistertunddaBsich von ihm kaumerzahlenlait?39
Christian Rogowski
557
Domino suggests that in many ways the war is not over. The alleged
"Nachkriegszeit" is revealing itself to be a new "Vorkriegszeit."No art is
possible other than that which confrontsthis insight.Wenders'sWingsof Desire,
on the other hand, in all its poetry and its presumptuousness,its beauty and its
pathos, can be seen as an attempt at an "Eposdes Friedens."40Art cannot negate
the historical trauma, but it can endeavor to offer a countermodel.
Staunen
"Wie lange kann das eigentlich noch so weiter gehen?" Brasch asked
in the interview quoted above.41To Brasch,Western society is perpetuatingits
own sickness by working towards its own self-annihilation. His film Domino
can be seen as an attempt to render the political consternation vis-a-vis an
untenable status quo aesthetically productive. Lisa's amazement at seeing her
world fall apart is in many ways a visual realization of Brasch's own political
and aesthetic perspective.
By way of contrast,Wim Wenders assertsthe importanceof a different
kind of amazement, that of a rediscovery of possibilities:
"Der Himmel iiberBerlin"hat eine Botschaft:Er fordertdas Publikum
auf, das Staunen zu lernen.42
While Braschfocuses on the encroachmentof a catastrophichistorical
situation upon the individual, Wenders insists on the possibility of human
fulfillment. The malaise, his film suggests, can be overcome:
Friiher steckte ich in einem finsteren Loch, und meine Meinung war,
daB man iiberhaupt nichts mehr erzahlen kann. DaB alles sinnlos
ist. ...
Heute finde ich es wichtiger, aufregender, folgen-reicher, die Dinge
mit einem Blick der Zuneigung zu beschreiben.Denn heute glaube ich,
daB entmutigende Bilder zur Entmutigung fiihren - und ermutigende
Bilder zur Ermutigung.43
Such a stance is prone to criticism for its apparent naivete. Both
Wenders and Handke have come under attack for the way in which Wingsof
Desireborderson kitsch.44Outsidethe poetic context of the film, statements like
that of Damiel:
Erst das Staunen
iiber uns zwei,
das Staunen
iiber den Mann und die Frau
558
GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW
hat mich zum Menschen gemacht.45
appear to have little pragmatic relevance. But these texts, written by Peter
Handke, should not easily be dismissed as vacuous mysticism.46They do not
signal a simple withdrawal from the political into the private sphere. Instead,
they attempt to assert the essential inseparabilityof the two spheres in a new
manner.Marion'sdeclarationof love towards the end of Wingsof Desiremakes
this clear:
Nicht nur die ganze Stadt, die ganze Welt...
nimmt gerade teil an unserer Entscheidung.
Wir zwei sind jetzt mehr als nur zwei.
Wir verk6rpernetwas.
Wir sitzen auf dem Platz des Volkes, und der ganze Platz ist voll von
Leuten, die sich dasselbe wiinschen wie wir.47
To be sure, the vocabulary employed here is highly problematic to
many ears. It is difficult to assess to what extent Handke has succeeded in
purifying the German language tainted by Nazism. What is important in the
present context is that the viewer is drawn into the exchange, as Marion
addresses her soliloquy to the camera, that is to the audience itself.48 The
declaration of love is thus directed as much to the audience at large as it is to
Damiel:
Schau, meine Augen! Sie sind das Bild der Notwendigkeit, der Zukunft
aller auf dem Platz.49
Wenders's film can be seen as an attempt to create such a "Platz,"a
utopian space in which the vision of human fulfillment can be shared with the
audience. Marion'swords do not naively celebrate her encounter with Damiel.
Rather,they encourage the audience to keep the utopian vision of love present
in theirlives after leaving the sharedexperience of watching the film. The quasireligious implications of the scene are evident both in the chalice from which
Damiel and Marion drink and in the sermonlike solemnity of Marion'sspeech.
In its inflated rhetoricof allegedly universalhuman values, Handke's soliloquy
will appear suspect to many viewers. Yet the focus is not on a salvation coming
from without but ratheron a reorientationof perception.At the beginning of the
film, only the children can see the angels. Gradually,the audience is invited to
accept this basic poetic conceit: the film encourages the audience to view the
world, as it were, with new eyes, to take nothing for granted and to rediscover
the childlike capacity for "Staunen."As a reminderof the power of the desire
within each of the viewers, the film attempts to empower the audience with
ChristianRogowski
559
utopianenergy.50
In their emphasison amazementas a basic category of creative
endeavor,both Braschand Wendersestablishcountermodelsto a historical
realitywhichthreatensto suffocatethe individual.Bothharkback to Walter
in his eighththesison history:
Benjamin'snotionof "Staunen"
Das Staunendariiber,daBdie Dinge,die wirerleben,im zwanzigsten
Esstehtnicht
Jahrhundert
'noch'moglichsind,ist keinphilosophisches.
am Anfangder Erkenntnis,es sei dennder,daBdie Vorstellungvon
Geschichte,aus deres stammt,nichtzu haltenist.51
Brasch shares Benjamin'spreoccupationwith history as a selfperpetuatingcatastrophe.His film Dominocan be seen as a contributionto a
redefinitionof historyin Benjaminian
terms:historyis notviewedas a sequence
of developmentsin pursuitof progress,a progressthatmaysuffersetbackshere
and there.Rather,historybecomesthe accumulatedawarenessof disastrous
tensionswreakinghavocin continualconflict.
Yet Benjamin'snotionof "Staunen"
is fundamentallyambiguous:it
can encompassboth the gaze of consternationin Braschand the childlike
opennessin Wenders.Moreover,there is anotherambiguityin Benjamin's
phrasingwhich belies the pessimisticgist of his argument.Like the English
"still,"the German"noch"can meanboth"atthispoint"and"evenunderthese
circumstances."
Somethingthatis " 'noch'moglich"can eitherpessimistically
referto the barbaricpracticesof politicalreality("sadlyeven today")or to the
still-presentutopian possibilities("despiteeverything").Wenders'sfilm is
locatedin the spherecreatedby the secondmeaningof "noch."
WingsofDesirefeaturesa longdebateoverhistorybetweenDamieland
Cassiel.Historycannotbe confrontedin the quasi-masterlystanceof whatis
knownas "Vergangenheitsbewaltigung,"
butin constantcontemplationof the
of
that
ever
took
omnipresence everything
place.Cassielassertsthatalongside
the"GeschichtederKriege"thereis anotherlineof history:"Aberauchdieerste,
vomGras,vonderSonne,vondenLuftspriingen,
vondenAusrufen,dauertnoch
an."52Brasch'sLisahadonlybeen able to catcha glimpseof the Easternpart
of the city fromthe windowof a discothequeoverlookingthe Wall.At theend
of their conversation,Damiel and Cassiel walk right throughit. Damiel's
transformation
fromangelintohumanbeingtakesplaceon thedeath-stripnext
to a Wallthatnownolongerexists.Itis thecoexistenceof thetwolinesof history
thatensuresthe possibilityof new beginnings,notin the senseof"Fortschritt"
but in the sense of "Fortsetzung."
Wingsof Desireends with a view of the
undividedsky over Berlinwiththe caption"Fortsetzung
folgt,"assertingthat
is
indeed
"to
be
continued."
history
560
GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW
A shorterversionof thispaperwas givenat the annualmeetingof theGermanStudies
Association,Buffalo,October1990. I wouldlike to thankProfessorIngeborgMajerO'Sickeyfor her usefulcomments.
'Both films are repletewith autobiographical
reminiscences.Like Lisa, Katharina
Thalbachis the daughterof an actress,SusanneThalbach,who workedunderBrecht
attheEastBerlin"Berliner
Ensemble."
Katharina
Thalbachherselfwasa memberof the
samecompanybeforecomingto thewestin 1976.Partsof DominowereshotinBrasch's
apartmentwhose walls are decoratedwith postersof productionsby the "Berliner
Ensemble."
Likewise,Marion'sroomin Wingsof Desirefeaturespostcardsof Nancy,the
hometownof actressSolveigDommartin.
2Onthe historyandsignificanceof the monument,see ReinhardAlings,"DieStandehafteElse.HeuteeineAttraktion
imOst-WestTourismus:
dieSiegessaulein Berlin,"
Die
Zeit 12 (March23, 1990) 24.
3WalterBenjamin,Gesammelte
Schriften.Editedby Rolf Tiedemannand Hermann
(Frankfurt:
Schweppenhauser
Suhrkamp,1989) 4: 1, 241.
the statueof the "Siegessaule"
41nterestingly
enough,Wendersreinterprets
angelas a
"Friedensengel,"
endowingit withutopianelementsaliento Benjamin'sinterpretation.
WimWenders,DieLogikderBilder.
EssaysundGesprache.Hrsg.vonMichaelToteberg
der
102.
(Frankfurt:
1988)
Autoren,
Verlag
50n Berlinas a filmtopicthroughout
history,seeWilliamUricchio,"The
CityReviewed:
Berlin'sFilmImageon the Occasionof its 750th Anniversary,"
FilmandHistory18: 1
(February,1988) 16-25. UricchiodiscussesneitherDomino nor Wingsof Desire.
6ThomasBrasch,Engelaus Eisen.Beschreibungeines Films (Frankfurt:
Suhrkamp,
1981)245.
7Otherpossiblesourcesfor the film'sGermantitle includeJosefvon Baky'sfilm Und
iiberunsderHimmel(1947) andChristaWolfs shortnovelDergeteilteHimmel(1963),
bothof whichare set in Berlin.
8Cf.the entryon ThomasBraschin Hans-MichaelBock,ed.,CineGraph.
Lexikonzum
Film4 volumesof unpaginated
loose-leafbinders(Munich:Edition
deutschsprachigen
text & Kritik,1984).
9Wendershas frequentlystatedthatRilke'sElegiesprovidedthe maininspirationfor
in Uwe Kiinzel,
makinga filmfeaturingangels.Cf."EinGesprachmitWimWenders,"
WimWenders:
einFilmbuch.3., erw.Aufl.(Freiburg:
Dreisam,1988) 211.
'1Der HimmeluiberBerlin.Ein Filmbuchvon Wim Wendersund Peter Handke
(Frankfurt:
Suhrkamp,1989) 23.
"On the biographicalbackgroundof Benjamin'sinterpretation
of Klee'spicturesee
GershomSholem'sessay of 1972, "WalterBenjaminund sein Engel,"translatedby
WernerDannhauseras "WalterBenjaminandhis Angel,"in GarySmithed.,OnWalter
CriticalEssaysandRecollections(CambridgeandLondon:MITPress,1988)
Benjamin.
51-89.
2Cf.Wenders,Himmel,95-97.
Schriften,1:2, 698.
'3Benjamin,
14ThomasBrasch,Domino.EinFilm(Frankfurt:
Suhrkamp,1982)5. Cf. RobertMusil,
"Grigia,"in Prosa und Stiicke. Kleine Prosa, Aphorismen,Autobiographisches.
von AdolfFrise(Reinbek:Rowohlt,1978) 234.
Herausgegeben
15Brasch,Domino, 19. The colloquialspellingis Brasch's.
Christian Rogowski
561
'6Themotif of the coalmanlost in the Berlin"Tiergarten"
parkechoes the motif of
Kindheitum
whichopensBenjamin'sBerliner
in the section"Tiergarten"
disorientation
cf. Benjamin,Schriften4:1,237. Thenameof thestreetthecoalman
Neunzehnhundert,
Inthefilm,the nameis lookingfor is givenin theprintedscriptas "SondannstraBe."
like "SondernstraBe,"
Berlin
accent
sounds
in
the
coalman's
heavy
pronounced
a
a
status
of
the
notion
of
German
Germany
"Sonderweg,"
special
independent
evoking
of the two powerblocs,a statuswhichBrasch'sfilm seemsto implycannotbe found.
'7Brasch,Domino,46.
'Ibid., 187.
Schriften,1:2, 697.
'9Benjamin,
20HelenFehervary,"ThomasBrasch:A StorytellerafterKafka."New GermanCritique
12 (Fall 1977) 130.
21In1980 ThomasBrasch,alongsideGiinterGrass,SaraKirsch,andPeterSchneider,
publishedanopenletteraddressedto WestGermanchancellorHelmutSchmidturging
himto resistU.S.pressureto deploynuclearmissilesinGermany,a move,thesignatories
Frankfurter
argued,whichcouldleadto a thirdworldwar:"NutzenSie die Chance...!"
Rundschau(April 17, 1980). Cf. ArbeitsbuchThomasBrasch.Herausgegebenvon
MargareteHaBelundRichardWeber(Frankfurt:
Suhrkamp,1987) 233 ff.
22Themood of impendingcatastropheis perhapsbest capturedin the film Kriegund
Frieden
of 1982-83,acollectiveeffortcoordinated
byAlexander
Kluge,withcontributions
bywriterHeinrichBbllanddirectorsStefanAust,AxelEngstfeld,andVolkerSchl6ndorff.
23ThomasBrasch,"Ichwill nichtsterben,ist zu wenig"(1982) in Arbeitsbuch
Thomas
Brasch,234-36; here,235.
24Thepoem opens the first volume of poems ThomasBraschpublishedafter his
Gedichte(Frankfurt:
expulsionfromthe GDR,Derschone27. September.
Suhrkamp,
1980) 7.
ThomasBrasch,18.
25Arbeitsbuch
Schriften,5,592.
26Benjamin,
27Brasch,
Domino,129. Significantly,the segmentwhichfeaturesthedebateovernew
formsof theateris entitled"Krieg"(122-29).
28"DieWim-Bibel.Wortedes groBenVorsitzendenWimWenders.Aus AnlaBseines
neuenFilmsDer HimmeluiberBerlin."Aufgezeichnetvon BettinaRohl undClaudius
Seidl,Tempo(November1987) 86.
29ThecharacterLehrteris partlybased on biographicalmaterialfrom the lives of
Bernhard
WickiandBennoBesson:Wicki,theactorandfilmdirector(DieBriicke,1959)
who playsthe part,was expelledfromactingschoolin 1938 for politicalreasonslike
Lehrterin Brasch'sfilm.Lehrter'seffortsatcontinuingthetraditionof antifascisttheater
in postwarGermanyecho the workof theaterdirectorBesson,thefatherof Katharina
Thalbach,the actresswho playsLisa.
30Brasch,
Domino,41.
3JiirgenKiepert'smusicalscorehighlightsthisaspect.Thesegmentthataccompanies
this sequenceis called"DieKathedralederBiicher"on the soundtrackalbum.
32Thecharacteris partlybasedon thebiographicalbackgroundof CurtBois,whoplays
Homer:from his early successesas a child actorin Berlin,Bois was a well-known
comedian.As a Jew,he left Germanyin 1933 andneverregainedhis popularityupon
his returnafterthewar.InDecember1981,BrunoGanzandOttoSander,whowereto
562
GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW
playDamielandCassielin Wenders'sWingsof Desire,madea televisiondocumentary
on theactorsCurtBoisandBernhardMinetti,oneforcedintoexile,theothersuccessful
underNazi dicatorship.The film, entitledGeddchtnisand shot in black and white,
consistsmainlyof interviewswiththetwoactorsconductedatvariouslocationsinBerlin,
includingsome featuredin Dominoand Wingsof Desire.See MarionSchamuthe,
EinFilmfir CurtBoisundBernhard
heute9 (September
"Gedachtnis.
Minetti,"Theater
1982) 58-61.
3Cf. Himmel,56.
ist unddieBilder
34Cf.Brasch'sdictum"Daswollteichso,daBderFriedenschwarzweiB
vom Krieg farbig sind."In Bion Steinbornand ChristelBrunn," 'Im Kino ist der
Zuschauerein Opferder Einbeutung.'Ein Gesprachmit KatharinaThalbachund
ThomasBrasch,"
1982),19Emphasisin theoriginal.
Filmfaust30 (October/November
35Ina sequencetowardstheendof WingsofDesire,
theblack-and-white
imageof Cassiel,
whohasnotturnedhuman,is integratedintothecolorfootageof DamielhelpingMarion
practiceher circusact. This techniquereversesan effect usedby Braschin Domino,
wherethe wartimefootagein coloris insertedinto the black-and-whiteimageof the
screenonto whichLehrter'sfilm is projected.
36Brasch,
Domino, 67.
37Himmel, 59f.
38OnWenders'streatmentof the topographyof Berlinsee the chapter"WimWenders'
filmische Stadtlandschaften
oder Der HimmeliiberBerlin,"in Hanno Mobius and
im deutschenFilm (Marburg:
GuntramVogt, DrehortStadt das Thema"Grofistadt"
Hitzeroth,1990) 149-64.
39Wenders,
Himmel,57.
400nthe associationbetweenthe film'sHomerandHomer'sepic Odysseesee Charles
H. Helmetag, "'...Of Men and of Angels': LiteraryAllusions in Wim Wenders's Wings
of Desire."Literature/Film
Quarterly18:4 (1990):4,251-254.
41Arbeitsbuch,
18;cf. note 25.
42"DieWim-Bibel,"Tempo,90.
43Ibid.,88.
44Cf.forinstanceJanetMaslin'sreview"TheRageof Angels,"New YorkTimes( April
29, 1988), C15, 1.
45Wenders,
Himmel,167.
460n PeteHandke'sinvolvementin Wenders'sfilm,see ThomasF. Barry,"TheWeight
23:
of Angels:PeterHandkeandDerHimmeliiberBerlin,"
Moder AustrianLiterature
3/4 (1990) 53-64.
47Wenders,
Himmel,162.
48RogerCookhaspointedoutthatthisconstitutesaninvitationto sharetheprotagonists'
desirein"directviolationof a cardinalruleof classicalcinema,"wherethevieweris not
vis-a-visthecinematicpresentation.
directlyaddressedbutrathergranted"invisibility"
RogerCook,"Angels,FictionandHistoryin Berlin:WimWenders'Wingsof Desire,"
GermanicReview66: 1 (Winter1991) 34-37; here,41.
49Wenders,
Himmel,163.
50SeeWenders'sstatementin an interviewwith ReinholdRauh:"Auchin der letzten
Vergangenheit,Anfangder 80er Jahremit Tschernobylund all den Kriegsherden
unddasbekanntereals
iiberall,ist das apokalyptische
Bildja auchdasvorherrschende
Christian Rogowski
563
das friedlicheBild. Deswegenfinde ich es auch fruchtbarerund tatsachlichauch
InReinhardRauh,Wim
reizvollerundeinfachwichtiger,positiveUtopienzuentwerfen."
Wenders
undseineFilme (Munich:Heyne,1990) 262.
Schriften,4, 697.
51Benjamin,
Himmel,84.
52Wenders,