Faraway, So Close! (1993)
"In weiter Ferne, so nah!" (original title)

A sequel to Wender's Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of desire), it again follows a group of angels in the German capital who look longingly upon the life of humans.

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Richard Reitinger, Wim Wenders,

Stars:

Otto Sander, Bruno Ganz, Mikhail Gorbachev

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Otto Sander	...	Cassiel
Bruno Ganz	...	Damiel
Mikhail Gorbachev	...	Als Gast (as Michail S. Gorbatschow)
Nastassja Kinski	...	Raphaela
Martin Olbertz	...	Sterbender
Aline Krajewski	...	Raissa
Monika Hansen	...	Hanna / Gertrud Becker
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Phillip Winter
Heinz Rühmann	...	Konrad
Tilmann Vierzig	...	Der Junge Konrad
Hanns Zischler	...	Dr. Becker
Antonia Westphal	...	Die Junge Hanna
Ingo Schmitz	...	Anton Becker
Günter Meisner	...	Fälscher
Sascha Wohlatz	...	Jugendlicher

Storyline

A sequel to Wender's Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of desire), it again follows a group of angels in the German capital who look longingly upon the life of humans.

---

Plot Keywords:

angel | sequel | post cold war | afterlife | german reunification | 

---

Genres:

Fantasy | Drama | Mystery | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German French English

Release Date:

21 December 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Faraway, So Close!

Filming Locations:

Alexanderplatz, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Gross:

$810,455 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bioskop Film, Road Movies Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The human name Cassiel chooses is Karl Engel. "Engel" is German for "angel."

---

Goofs

After Cassiel meets Anton Becker and returns to Angelo's pizzeria, he meets Emit Flesti and Damiel puts his flour stained hands on Flesti's shoulder, leaving a white mark on the black suit. The next time we see Flesti, moments later, there is no white mark.

---

Quotes

Cassiel: Each one creates his own world within his own vision and hearing. He remains a prisoner in it. And from his cell he sees the cells of others.

---

Crazy Credits

The film is dedicated to actor Curt Bois who worked with Wim Wenders in "Der Himmel über Berlin".

---

Connections

Referenced in U2: The Best of 1990-2000 (2002)

---

Soundtracks

"Faraway, So Close!"
Written and Performed by Nick Cave

User Reviews

Voted "9". Sillier than "Wings of Desire". Beautiful ending.

Wim Wenders may not be taken seriously by Hollywood (or critics) anymore, but he seems able to pull in actors and musicians at will. Great soundtrack.

Great cast as well. Check out Horst Bucholz (sp?) here and in the 1962 comedy "One, Two, Three" with James Cagney. All the "mortals", especially Bruno Ganz, seem almost gleeful. Only Willem Dafoe appears to be in a "serious German movie".

I may not be qualified to comment on the real value of this movie because "Wings of Desire" is in my permanent top 5. It probably benefits from the glow of it's precursor more than any other sequel, because I really wanted to catch up with these characters. I smiled every time I saw a familiar face.

That said, it takes about an hour to settle in but finally gets sort of serious. Watching this and "Until the End of The World" (also ripped by critics) I get the feeling Wenders was either being lazy or just freestyling to avoid boredom. Looks like fun from here.