City of Angels (1998) : Less Human Than Human [Mike’s Review]
Today on Cage Club we remake a foreign film with “City Of Angels” After just finishing the Cage Action Trilogy we are gonna slam on the brakes and take it real slow here to recover after so much awesomeness. I can’t imagine filming three huge blockbusters in a row and how exhausting that must have been so I am not that shocked that Nic Cage wanted to take it easy with his next movie, and take it easy he does. He practically stalls through this movie doing the bare minimum, which in Cage speak means he’s still doing more than most. Let’s get into it.
This movie is a remake to the 1987 German movie “Wings of Desire”. That movie centers around an Angel who follows the lives of people living in post war Berlin when it was divided into East and West. It explores the effects of WW2 on multiple generations, from the elderly to the children, in an attempt to make sense of a city divided. An Angel named Damiel falls in love with Humanity and it’s ability to preserve in a country that was so devastated by War. He loves everything about life and wishes to experience, taste and touch, as well as all the other senses that Angels cannot. It triggers his decision to transform and live out his days among them. City of Angels is only a remake in so much as both movies center around an Angel that decides to become a Human. They took the basic premise and developed a new story. Aside from one or two other similarities, both movies are their own animal dealing with separate themes and meanings.
In City of Angels Nic Cage plays Seth, one of millions of Angels that walk around the world unnoticed by us normal humans. He is tasked with recording moments in life that seem important. Seth posts up at the Hospital a lot and likes to help usher the dead across the abyss and onto the next place. It’s here he sees his main squeeze Maggie, a heart surgeon played by Meg Ryan. She is having trouble after loosing a patient which she fought really hard to save. This intrigues Seth and he takes a special interest in Maggie, stalking her and even watching her take a bath. He talks to his Angel friend about touching and how he’s envious of Humans. His crush gets so bad Seth even allows himself to be seen by Maggie, something Angels just don’t do. The two engage in a romance that pushes the boundaries of possibilities. I mean, do Angels even have genitalia ? Maggie likes Seth but has a problem, he cannot feel like us humans do. This bothers Maggie, especially when they kiss and he feels nothing. It’s friction that is resolved when Seth discovers he can shed his heavenly wings and become a human by committing Angel suicide. Seth “takes the plunge” and wakes up a real live boy. He and Maggie are together at last and nothing can ever tear them apart, except for one thing, the specter of Death. Death is a major theme in the movie and has finally caught up to Maggie. She is involved in a car accident and her life with Seth is cut short after just one night. At first Seth is upset and doesn’t understand why it happened, but then he comes to understand that it’s all part of the circle of life and he relaxes a bit. Seth will go on with the memory of Maggie in his heart as he experiences all life has to offer.
The movie isn’t really a remake of Wings of Desire after all. Someone took the characterization of Angels from that movie and used it for their own agenda. I think the adaptors missed the point of the envious Angel story by focusing it on one girl rather than the entire experience of life. I never got the sense of why Seth and Maggie fall in love other than convenience. Maybe it’s just that I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Cage and Ryan. Neither are bad in this film and at times their taken elevates the weak material, but I wasn’t getting a strong vibe between them, not enough to earn the climatic headache. If any of this sounds remotely interesting to you I suggest you watch Wings of Desire and skip City of Angels.
That will do it for this entry into the Cage Club. Something tells me we are not done with movies containing Angels, just call it a hunch. To be honest I can’t believe it took Cage this long to play one. Next up on Cage Club is Snake Eyes, Directed By Brian DePalma. I am a big fan of DePalma’s early work and have not seen this movie yet, so it will be a first time screening for me. It’s been a while since we covered a Cage movie I have not seen and I am super excited. I have heard mixed reviews of Snake Eyes and recall seeing the crazy trailer in theaters, but somehow I never checked it out.
Mike
@the_mikestir
