Trennung vs. Verbindung (Separation vs. Connection)

Trennung ist ein verwirrender Begriff benutzt um Objecte, Leute, Platze und Ideen zu beshreiben. Wim Wenders war so mutig die wahre Bedeutung von Trennung zum beschreiben—mit Bespielen ihre Existenz Gründe und Effekte. Die Existenz von Trennung in der Gesellschaft ist nicht so offen sichlich wir Leute denken, saft Wenders durch seinen Film. Auf der anderen seite, beshreibt und definiert Wenders auch den Begriff Verbindung. Beide diese Begriffe, Trennung und Verbindung sin dim Titel des Filmes, Der Himmel Über Berlin und In Weiter Ferne, So Nah.

In welcher Weise existiert Trennung in Filmen? Sie ist sehr offensichlich in Der Himmel Über Berlin, wenn die Kamera am Anfang des Filmes die zerbrochenen Leben vieler Leute in vershiedenen Apartments filmt. Mann sieht eine Mutter auf den Fahrrad die denkt, “Endlich verrückt.” Man sieht einen jungen Mann der laute Rockmusik hört während seine Gross Eltern in dem anderen Zimmer genervt sind. Man sieht ein Man in die Wohnung seiner toten Mutter gehen, der denkt dass sie nie seine Mutter war. Eine andere szene zeigt eine Frau, die ihren Mann anschreit während sie auf der Autobahn fahren. All diese kurzen Szenen zeigen Trennung.

Von diesem Anfang versteht Man dass Trennung Leute umgibt als wenn ihre Leben von Wänden umgeben warden. Man versteht auch dass Trennung oft negativ gesehen wird. Trennung existiert zwischen Deprimierten und Streitenden. Man sieht sie auch zwischen der alteren und der juneren Generation zwischen Männern und Frauen.

Diese Idee von Trennung ist sehr offensichlich in der Hauptgeschichte des Filmes in der Geshichte der Trennung der Engel von der Erde.

In both films, an angel, first Damiel then Cassiel become humans and face the hard reality of mortal existence. The angels are separated from humans, being immortal and invisible. Both of the main characters Damiel and Cassiel become hopeful in connecting with their human subjects. They seemed more connected to their subjects as angels by reading their thoughts. However, because they could not directly affect the lives of humans, they felt more disconnected and separated from mortal people than after they had become humans themselves and could act in a way that would change their new living world.

Damiel's experience evolves from an infatuation for a beautiful circus acrobat, Marion. He begins to follow her as an angel, taken notice of her thoughts and dreams. However, because he is not mortal, he cannot make contact with her. This propels him to make a decision that had already been welling up in him. Just before he became mortal, he said “Ich werde sie in den Arm nehmen. Sie wird mich in den Arm nehmen.”

Damiel encounters mortal life naively. He sets off to search for Marion, while passing through awkward moments. Finally, near the end of the first film, Marion and Damiel find each other and they immediately connect, as if they had already known each other. Because Damiel has now experienced mortal life, he has a greater capacity to connect with the people around him. He writes his last words, “Ich … weiss … jetzt, was … kein … Engel … weiss.”

Wenders defines one of the main causes of separation between people is misunderstanding. He spends an enormous amount of reel time, especially in the second film, discussing the Nazi’s effect on the German people. A driver ponders the borders around the German people caused by the 3rd Reich. “Jibt es noch Grenzen? Mehr den je… Das deutsche Volk ist in so viele Kleinstaaten zerfallen,” he says.

Wenders presents irony in the second Film, In Weiter Ferne, so Nah. During the Nazi reign, there existed such a unity among the German people as they had come together as one powerful nation. In essence, they were strongly connected. However, this “connection” rested on immoral principles. We learn about Nazi propaganda films and the Nazi degenerate art museums. Conversely, Wenders delves deeper into the meaning of connection and reveals that an important value are involved to create true connections among people. We here an angel’s voice at the end of the second film: “Wir sind nicht die Botschaft, wir sind die Boten. Die Botschaft ist die Liebe.”

Despite the reality that the angels couldn’t necessarily experience mortality as the humans, Wenders tells us that one of their main goals was to foster these connections. They knew that it was only through these connections that humans could relinquish themselves of pain and suffering. A depressed man sitting on the U-Bahn thinks of his wasted life. Damiel, sitting next to him, puts his hands on his shoulders granting a kind of spiritual comfort. The man’s thoughts change toward motivational thoughts and he sits up in his chair.

Separation also breeds doubt. Suppose you had a beautiful painting hanging on a wall in your home and one day it was stolen leaving the wall blank. You would most likely exhaust yourself to retrieve the painting. However, after months of looking for the thief, you begin to assume it is lost for good. Years later you have forgotten about the painting—it only flashes through your memory in passing. As you grow old, your mind becomes weary, and soon you have forgotten that you ever had a painting on the wall. You wouldn’t believe you had a painting unless someone showed it to you. What you cannot see, you do not believe—what you cannot touch is not real. Thus it is with the realm of angels and humans.

Cassiel deals with this problem as he becomes disconnected from the angels. Holding a liquor bottle, he cries out to the angel, Raphaela: “Wo bist du? … Gib mir ein Zeichen! Das ist doch kein Leben! … Nur was wir sehen können zählt, nur daran glauben wir, das Unsichtbare kommt nicht mehr an, nur was wir anfassen können, gibt es für uns auch wirklich.”

This form of separation deals not horizontally between humans, but vertically between the earthly and the heavenly. Ultimately, Wenders declares that man is lost and vain without his connection to the divine.

Secularism--intolerance

"Those who espouse secularism – who would like everyone to see the world through “unbiased” eyes - will stop at nothing until everyone accepts their view. That is the definition of intolerance."

--Andrew Heim