Wings of Desire (1987) is a pre German unification film set in Berlin. The story follows an angel who wishes to be mortal. His wish stems from his desire to be with a certain mortal woman. The only way he can become mortal though is to fall from the sky. This is a fantastically beautiful film made in black and white, but is later filmed in color when the main character gets his wish.
The director, Wim Wenders, won a best director award for the film at Cannes.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. This story sounds vaguely familiar, but I don’t know where I heard it. The answer is the City of Angels (1998), which stars Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan and tells pretty much the same story if you switch Berlin with L.A.
As always, I’m including a preview of Wings of Desire for your viewing pleasure.
Unfortunately, we don’t have City of Angels, but if you’d like to see a preview, I’m including one below.