Wenders’ magnificent metaphysical romance and philosophical/historical meditation is dedicated to “all the old angels, especially Yasujiro [Ozu], François [Truffaut], and Andrei [Tarkovsky]”—cinematic masters who left an indelible impression on Wenders’ work. In Wings of Desire, which lyrically portrays the walking of guardian angels among us, we can see traces of Ozu’s quiet elegance and humanism, Truffaut’s romanticism, and Tarkovsky’s obsession with the interrelations of time and space and history. Wenders’ profound achievement is to harmoniously merge all of these potentially disparate influences into a film of sheer visual poetry and deep emotional resonance. (DVD)