Gift for bironic by Laura Shapiro (Wings of Desire)

[fv_poster]

Title of vid: What No Angel Knows
Recipient: bironic
Vidder: Laura Shapiro
Fandom: Wings of Desire (1987)
Music: Dance / S'loyfn, S'yogn by Moira Smiley and Voco
Summary: What does it mean to be human?
Content notes: No standardized notes apply
Signed length: 03:08

Link to signed vid post.

Lyrics
Spoken in English:
When the north wind brings the cold air
Should we laugh and dance against it?
Or should we sigh with its groaning?
My child, your father sends a message of hope
From a cold, dark land
Where he is digging graves
For all lies

The lyrics song are in Yiddish. Translation:
Dark clouds race and rush, the wind whistles and blows. Your father sends greetings from Siberia to you, my child. It is the wind that brings a greeting from that cold land. There your father stands with a shovel in hand. And he digs deeper and deeper – shoveling out the earth. Don’t worry – he’s digging graves for all lies. He’s neither the first nor the last to fall in the field. But don’t worry, my child, a great hero bore you. And you’ll grow up to be a hero. So sleep, sleep now. Gather your strength for the future my only child.

Comments

[cupidsbow]

I haven't seen this film yet, but you make it look creepy and awesome in equal measure.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you! It's a wonderful movie, subtle and full of heart.

[stultiloquentia]

Aaaaah! You did an absolutely gorgeous job of capturing one of my favourite movies! What a neat music choice. Thank you so much. I hope you inspire a whole bunch of people to watch WoD and the sequel.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you so much! The film is so gorgeous it was kind of intimidating to vid. I'm so pleased you feel I did it justice.

I had totally forgotten that there was a sequel! I've never seen it!

[bironic]

IIRC it's nowhere near as good, more mafia-style, but if you like Cassiel (which I do), it's still fun.

[laurashapiro]

Mafia-style? Oh dear.

Well, I will definitely be checking it out (I like Cassiel, too), but I appreciate the heads-up. (:

[elisi]

*profound love*

This was just utterly beautiful. Thank you. Might be back later with more coherent thoughts, but right now I'm just caught in deep appreciation - it's such a rich movie that I wasn't sure how anyone could make a vid from it, but you did it!

[laurashapiro]

Thank you so much for your very kind words. I'm thrilled that people who love the movie are happy with the vid.

[scribe]

I have to admit that I haven't seen this movie since a film class rather a long time ago, but I remember enough of the premise to totally love this vid! Absolutely inspired song choice.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you so much! Song choice was HARD for this assignment; I wound up with a short list of 8 songs and it was agony trying to pick! In the end I went for something that would allow me to focus on the aspect of the movie I like best. I'm so glad it worked for you.

[lithiumdoll]

Wow, this is dense. I don't know the source, so I doubt I'm even unpacking half of it, but I really, really love this vid!

[laurashapiro]

Thank you! The film is definitely worth seeing (and also quite dense -- the amount of stuff I left out is kind of huge).

[vivien]

This is one of my favorite movies, and the song could have been in the soundtrack. Beautiful work! I adore this.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it.

[no_detective]

Wow, this is gorgeous - the black&white vs. color moments, the slow build as he picks up various objects on his path to becoming human, the intensity of connections... amazing work!

[laurashapiro]

Thank you very, very much.

[par_avion]

Very evocative. I like the song choice, and the transition at 1:40 from the trapeze artist to the bird in the sky when the song shifts.

[laurashapiro]

I'm thrilled that you pointed out that transition, because I wrestled with it for a long time. (:

Thanks for your kind comment!

[franzeska]

Glorious! Love that final color change as he's holding the rock to his forehead.

[laurashapiro]

Such a wonderful moment from the film that I couldn't leave it out! Thank you.

[livrelibre]

This is so gorgeously well done! Great song choice and use of the switches between black and white and color and the editing (esp. all the glances and little gestures on the beats) is great. I'll certainly be rewatching this again and looking up the source.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you so much! The film's use of color vs. black and white is spectacular and carefully reasoned; I wondered how it would work for the vid since I've changed the meaning of the color footage here. I'm so glad you liked this.

The movie is great. Highly recommended.

[sweetestdrain]

Agh! I've been waiting for an amazing Wings of Desire vid, and this is it. The song choice is lovely and the structure works so well. Gorgeous.

[laurashapiro]

I was so pleased to get your comment! Thank you! :D

[schiarire]

This is incredible. Perfect song choice and great shots. I'm so impressed that you were able to vid this film!

[laurashapiro]

Thank you! Yeah, it was an intimidating assignment. (: I'm glad you think I pulled it off!

[fan_eunice]

Wow. This is amazing and gorgeous and deeply intriguing (for someone who hasn't seen the source) and so, so well put together.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you. I wasn't sure that people who hadn't seen the movie would get anything out of it, so it's good to be reassured on that front.

I think you would dig the movie. It's amazing.

[echan]

This was awesome, so beautiful. I loved the illustration of his work, early on in the vid, and how he started to care more, and be interested in things like pens. The use of color footage was very well timed, and the angels and flight. The end was gorgeously timed, and felt well earned, lovely.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I struggled over the ending most of all, so to hear you thought it felt both well-timed and well-earned is great for me. (:

So glad you got so much out of it!

[frayadjacent]

Oh wow, this was very cool and interesting. I loved your use of slow, gentle motion.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you! The movie is really languorous so I felt the vid had to evoke that tempo. I worried that would bounce some people out of it, so it's good to know that it worked.

[actiaslunaris]

I find it interesting, that at the beginning it is only the angels who look directly at the camera, only to change to humans. It creates a connection between both, a bridge between the world of the unseen and seen. Lovely work.

[laurashapiro]

Great comment! Thank you so much for your insights; it's always great to see what the viewer picks up. I'm so glad you got so much out of the vid.

[china_shop]

*delighted* I don't know the film, but this is gorgeous! I love the footprints, especially. Beautiful! <3 <3 <3

[laurashapiro]

Thank you, honey! And you would LOVE this film! Definitely check it out.