Faraway, So Close!

1993 "Your favorite Angels are back!"
7.2| 2h26m| PG-13| en
Details

Damiel is now married to Marion, runs the pizzeria “Da Angelo” and the two have a child. The solitarily remaining angel Cassiel is more and more dissatisfied with his destiny as a mere observer of human life and finally decides to take the great leap. As Karl Engel he soon gets into a dubious milieu and finds himself as the assistant of the German American Baker, who makes his money with shady arms deals and sends films east in exchange for weapons. Cassiel’s adventure turns into a “thriller” when he decides to put a stop to Baker’s game.

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Reviews

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
isabelle_lacerda It was very important to have a movie with Cassiel on the spot, and the difference between how he became human and how Damiel did,because both of them went through different kinds of experiences that caused their "transformation".Cassiel's is purely an accident,however he tries to deal with it with a huge lack of balance though.He seems lost, with no direction but his essence can be found when he realizes he still has a purpose in his human form.So it was very interesting to see the whole process of an angel becoming a human and discovering his weakness in his journey,and yet he is able to overcome this and go back,trying to fix what eventually had nothing to do with the way he was supposed to act.
futures-1 "Far Away, So Close" (1993): The sequel to "Wings of Desire" by Wim Wenders. You have to understand that "Wings..." is probably THE film I would take with me to the proverbial desert island...i.e., the film I most often claim is my FAVORITE film of all time. Sequels are famous for being weak, distorted, caricaturized follow-ups of their originals. This is no exception. Because of WHO made this one, I've given it four chances. Wenders either hits or misses by what I'm guessing is over-enthusiasm for his work - which doesn't always allow him the restraint needed to stick to a single, clear issue. "Far Away, So Close" HAS the original seed of "Wings of Desire" in it...but is quickly deserted for a montage of other ideas, each one worthy of it's own film, but jammed into this "part two". Whereas "Wings..." leaves you with a feeling of the grandeur of the universe, the real meaning we all seek...."Far..." leaves me with a "so what/oh brother/gimme a break" feeling, topped off by an extremely stupid "theme song" at the end that is just plain embarrassing. Please SEE "Wings of Desire". Please AVOID "Far Away, So Close".
Louise Brooks This movie is exceptional. It never fails to make me cry. It is a contemporary Epic Poem about an Angel who enters time and becomes human in order to become more skillful at his eternal task. It is long (nearly 2.5 hours) and probably a little challenging for short attention spans. The cinematography is stunning. The script is incredibly complicated with hidden messages and multiple levels of symbolism. It won the Prix du Jury at Cannes (1993). It doesn't suck.
parkesja Both this and 'Until the End of the World' have a slightly maligned reputation- mainly because they are not 'Paris, Texas' or 'Wings of Desire'. 'Until...' is brilliant- though the Six hour 'Trilogy' version is said to make more sense...'Faraway' didn't appear in many cinemas here- its existence on a par with Cassiel and Rapheala in relation to the humans...This film seems to have been overlooked- which is strange considering the transcedental beauty within and the sublime U2 song...'Wings of Desire' is almost a scared text in the film world- I could not put it out of my mind when I watched this film- and so had a low esteem of 'Faraway so Close!'. A few years later and I've definitely over-watched 'Wings of Desire'. And also, that film ends with 'To Be Continued...''Faraway...' is possibly more sublime than 'Wings...'; Nastassia Kinski (daughter of a German icon and twat, Klaus Kinski) is perfect as Raphaella. Even greater than her role in 'Paris, Texas'. The cameos are good- the return of Peter Falk, Mikhail Gorbachev thinking about love in poetry rather than the "blood & steel" of revolution and Lou Reed- who appears three times: reinterpreting his song 'Berlin' for "after the wall", playing 'Why Can't I Be Good?' in a concert scene not as great as the one Nick Cave did in 'Wings of Desire' and giving Cassiel/Karl some money when he has fallen to earth as a human. Willem Defoe is as dependeable and beaugly as ever (his name 'time itself'). Bruno Ganz and Solveig Dommartin reprise their roles as Dammiel and Marion and now have a daughter- who along with Hanna's daughter represent the recurrent child theme (prevalent in 'Paris, Texas', 'Alice in the Cities', 'The Lisbon Story', 'Until the End of the World'). Some of the shots of Berlin (and particularly Raphaella) have a quality close to a Cocteau Twins record or a Rilke poem ("we are falling fast"?). Parts of the film remind me of Kryztof Kieslowski- the black economy after the end of communism and themes of new capitalism are present in 'Three Colours: Red' (and the theme of World War II and the past recalls one of the 'Dekalog's). Cassiel sees a newspaper floating in the river, stating the death of Willy Brandt- who was West German chancellor from 1969-1976: the peak period of New German Cinema. This has as much resonance as Fassbinder's use of the photos of post-war chancellors at the end of 'The Marriage of Maria Braun'. Proof that Wenders thinks of the past and isn't completely post-German...The film does feel European- the steam boat surely a reference to Jean Vigo's 'L'atalante'? Though the fusion of nationalties is as ever, international- to the point of solely human (the myriad of languages: English, German, French compound this). The music is particularly fine- not that I've been able to locate a soundtrack album- unlike the great soundtrack's for 'The Million Dollar Hotel' & 'Until the End of the World'! If Cassiel as an angel represented East-Germany and as a human represents the new unified Germany- Wenders portrays the perversion of freedom by a consumerist lifestyle and a perverted capitalism prevalent in exploitative practices justified by the 'free market'. The reduction of meaning and significance to money is seen in the gangsters or the taxi driver who no sense of the past (when Peter Falk wants to visit a part of East Berlin: very droll & very 'Columbo'). The film ends with the Barry Adamson/Nick Cave song 'Cassiel's Song'- which is as great as their later collaboration 'The Sweetest Embrace' (and they were both present on 'From Her to Eternity' used in 'Wings of Desire'). The characters are still on a journey, the constant "road" of Wenders' films- locating the home that you can never go home to again (to paraphrase Thomas Wolfe). Would be nice if we got a third film focusing on Raphaella- but that would only be an excuse to roll around the floor in ecstasy at the sight of the divine Ms Kinski!!...'Faraway So Close!' is one of Wenders's great films of the 1990's- along with 'The Beuna Vista Social Club', 'The Lisbon Story' and 'Until the End of the World' (I was a bit non-plussed by 'The End of Violence' & 'The Million Dollar Hotel'- though I might change my mind next time I see them!; 'Beyond the Clouds' is mostly not very good- though I'm not sure how much Wenders is present after reading 'My Time with Antonioni': the nudity was very 'dirty old man'- which is great if you're making soft-porn in the Paul Verhoeven mode and not so great if you made 'L'aventura' and 'Blow Up'). Forget 'Wings of Desire' and watch this film on its own merits; then again, I thought 'City of Angels' was almost interesting as Hollywood adaptations go- so what do I know?