I must begin with a movie that's not the one being reviewed here (
A Coffee in Berlin). This other movie is Wim Wenders's 1987
Wings of Desire, which in German is called
Der Himmel Ãœber Berlin (
The Sky Over Berlin). In
Desire, there is a scene that no one can forget. It is when the late Peter Falk, who is standing in front of a kiosk one cold and misty Berlin morning, tells an angel (Bruno Ganz), who he cannot see but senses is near him, of the pleasures of being alive, being in a body, and being with people and things. "I wish I could tell you how good it is to be here," says Falk in that inimitable voice of his. "Just to touch something. That's cold. [To] feel good. To smoke, have coffee, and if you do it together, it's just fantastic." That moment and line is the essence of Jan Ole Gerster's
A Coffee in Berlin, which, like
Desire, is shot in black and white (though with a digital camera), and is about a heavy smoker (Tom Schilling), his longing for a cup of coffee, and his city—its trains, streets, apartment blocks, graffiti, restaurants, theaters, and so on.
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