Silently watching over and studying the lives of contemporary Berliners are two serene, sad-eyed angels in overcoats, Damiel (Ganz) and Cassiel (Sander), who are privy to the innermost thoughts and troubles of their earthly charges. At times, they gently intercede, but mostly their presence is not felt. When Damiel encounters a lovely, lonely trapeze artist (Dommartin), however, he is smitten...

Gorgeous, graceful, and sublimely romantic, Wenders’s modern-day fairy tale might sound old hat — a sensitive angel longs to live and love as a mortal — but this one-of-a-kind film is actually a poetic ode to the fragility and aching beauty of human existence. In an odd but poignant turn, “Colombo” star Peter Falk appears as himself, as does cabaret rocker Nick Cave, in one of the film’s most memorable scenes. Wenders had an arthouse hit on his hands with “Desire,” and two decades later, it’s not hard to see why: Eternity never felt so wistful and refined.