Cinema; Image; Imaginary; Memory; Myth.
The aim of this research is to analyze symbolic representations in the films Wings of Desire (Der Himmel Über Berlin) by Wim Wenders (1987) and Undine (Undine) by Christian Petzold (2020), using expressions of the imaginary, memory and myth as parameters. These concepts are intertwined through a common basis, which is the theory of the image. Human beings construct mental representations of the world based on their previous and current imaginary experiences, which generates information in their mental universe about themselves and the environment in which they are inserted, including the social, cultural and historical. In order to deal with this intertwining, the notions of representation and the symbolic are also used, which make it possible to give an expression and a comprehensive meaning to imagetic, imaginary, mnesic or mythical manifestations. Symbolic representation is part of the evolutionary and historical process of humanity and is suggestively manifested in the films analyzed through images of angels, air, nymphs and water. Such manifestations allow for possible reading keys and reflections on social relations, phenomena and spaces in film narratives, including historical and contemporary situations in German society. In order to understand this, theoretical-methodological procedures are adopted, such as the qualitative approach (MINAYO, 2009; CHIZZOTTI, 2005), through film analysis (PENAFRIA, 2009; VANOYE, GOLIOT-LÉTÉ, 2012), of the elements of expression, their symbolism and contexts.