The movie that changed Bono’s life: “It’s an astonishing story”
Bono is one of those people that everyone has an opinion on. To some, he’s the golden-voiced frontman of U2, a musical icon and the spokesperson for a generation. To others, he’s a self-centred egomaniac who should spend less time telling people what to do. Whatever your thoughts on the Irishman, it’s impossible to deny the impact he and his bandmates have had on the world at large, especially at the movies.
U2 have contributed music to a number of high-profile films. Their track ‘Ordinary Love’ was written for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, winning them a Golden Globe for ‘Best Original Song’. Along with guitarist The Edge, Bono wrote the James Bond theme ‘GoldenEye’, which was performed by Tina Turner for the movie of the same name. The singer has also tried his hand at acting a few times, notably in the animated kids’ film Sing 2.
Musicians and filmmakers regularly inspire one another, and Mr Paul Hewson (you can see why he changed his name) is no exception. He clearly has an affinity for the big screen, as he outlined in an interview with Collider. When asked if he had a favourite film or director, he provided both with a single answer – Wings of Desire by German maestro Wim Wenders.
“It really changed my life,” Bono explained. “It made me understand that some of the things that we would love to rid ourselves of – feeling pain, feeling loss, feeling grief – are necessary parts of love and being in life. These are angels who wish to be human. They wish to feel. It’s the story about angels, as you know. An angel really falls in love with the people that he’s guarding and wishes to feel their pain, wishes to feel their sorrow. He would do anything, and indeed, gives up his own immortality to be human. It’s an astonishing story.”
Released in 1987, the title of this movie in its native language is ‘Der Himmel über Berlin’, which translates roughly to ‘Heaven Over Berlin’. It is set in a fictional version of the city inhabited by invisible angels, who comfort humanity across various crises. One angel, Damiel (Bruno Ganz), falls in love with a human trapeze artist named Marion (Solveig Dommartin). When he discovers that he might be able to take human form, Damiel faces a choice between living forever or becoming mortal to be with his beloved.
Wings of Desire is an allegory for the state of the German capital at the time, which was still divided by the Berlin Wall. Wenders, who has lived in Berlin since the 1970s, was clearly inspired by the longing he could feel from one side of the city, desperate to reconnect with the other. It wasn’t just contemporary politics that informed the filmmaker. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, who were also based in Berlin at the time, played a big role in shaping the narrative. They even feature in the movie, playing a concert attended by Marion.
Choosing an obscure German movie about existentialism with powerful political undertones as your favourite film is about as Bono a move as one can make. Still, it obviously had a major effect on him, as Wings of Desire was released the same year as U2’s seminal album, The Joshua Tree. Coincidence?
