In weiter Ferne, so nah! (1993)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Richard Reitinger (writer)
Wim Wenders (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

21 December 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Drama | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

A sequel to Wender's Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of desire), it again follows a group of angels in...

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Angel | German Reunification | Post Cold War | Afterlife

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Otto Sander	...	Cassiel
Bruno Ganz	...	Damiel
Nastassja Kinski	...	Raphaela
Martin Olbertz	...	Dying man
Aline Krajewski	...	Raissa
Monika Hansen	...	Hanna / Gertrud Becker
Peter Falk	...	Himself
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Phillip Winter
Heinz Rühmann	...	Chauffeur Konrad
Mikhail Gorbachev	...	Himself
Tilmann Vierzig	...	Young Konrad
Hanns Zischler	...	Dr. Becker
Antonia Westphal	...	Young Hanna
Ingo Schmitz	...	Anton Becker
Günter Meisner	...	Forger
Sascha Wohlatz	...	Teenager
Lasse Lehmann	...	Teenager
Marcel Jelinski	...	Teenager
Nils Schildhauer	...	Teenager
Patrick Winz	...	Teenager
Benjamin Winz	...	Teenager
Camilla Pontabry	...	Doria
Solveig Dommartin	...	Marion
Frédéric Darie	...	Maurice
Jean-Marie Rase	...	Jules
Lajos Kovács	...	Lali
Bruno Krief	...	Paul
Armance Brown	...	Paula
Henri Alekan	...	Captain
Hugues Delforge	...	'Les Elastonautes'
Clause Poncelet	...	'Les Elastonautes'
Susanne Jansen	...	Woman in galery
Bob Rutman	...	Artist
Yella Rottländer	...	Winter's angel
Alexander Hauff	...	Taxi driver
Horst Buchholz	...	Tony Baker
Andrzej Pieczynski	...	Czomsky
Natan Fyodorovsky	...	Russian
Ronald Nitschke	...	Patzke
Louis Cochet	...	Louis
Lou Reed	...	Himself
Willem Dafoe	...	Emit Flesti
Johanna Penski	...	Woman selling flowers
Steffi Hiller	...	Passer-by
Eberhard Knappe	...	Passer-by
Shefqet Namani	...	Street gambler
Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann	...	Police officer
Matthias Zelic	...	Seller
Nadja Engel	...	Woman doing box on the ear
Daniela Nasimcova	...	Angel
Gunter Kelm	...	Museum attendent
Heinz-Peter Graubaum	...	Museum attendent
Claude Lergenmueller	...	Andre
Melanie Pontabry	...	Melanie
Alfred Sczczot	...	Grumpy
Udo Samel	...	Peter (Security guard)
Gerd Wameling	...	Security guard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Curt Bois	...	Homer, the aged poet (scenes deleted)
Tom Farrell	...	Patient in coma (uncredited)

Directed by
Wim Wenders

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Reitinger		writer
Wim Wenders		writer
Ulrich Zieger		writer

Produced by
Ulrich Felsberg	....	producer
Michael Schwarz	....	line producer
Wim Wenders	....	producer

Original Music by
David Darling
Laurent Petitgand
Graeme Revell

Cinematography by
Jürgen Jürges

Film Editing by
Peter Przygodda

Production Design by
Albrecht Konrad

Art Direction by
Martin Schreiber

Costume Design by
Esther Walz

Makeup Department
Christine Atar	....	makeup artist
Jeannette Latzelsberger	....	assistant makeup artist
Valeska Schitthelm	....	additional makeup artist
Hasso von Hugo	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Karsten Brünig	....	unit production manager
Udo Heiland	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Scott Kirby	....	first assistant director
Anyon Rey	....	second assistant director
Caroline Veyssière	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Michael Fechner	....	property master
Andreas Olshausen	....	construction coordinator
Martin Schreiber	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Tommy Goodwin	....	adr mixer
Gunther Kortwich	....	sound
Matthias Lempert	....	sound effects
Andreas Walther	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Gerd Feuchter	....	special effects
Michael Luppino	....	special effects
Uli Nefzer	....	special effects supervisor (as Ulrich Nefzer)

Visual Effects by
Morten McAdams	....	matte painter
Morten McAdams	....	optical effects
Frank Schlegel	....	optical effects
Hubert von Seidlein	....	matte painter

Stunts
Clemans Bail	....	stunts
François Doge	....	stunt coordinator
Jean-Claude Houbart	....	stunts
Hardy Martins	....	stunts
Denis Wyss	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jürgen Bosse	....	gaffer
Stefan Breitel	....	lighting technician
Jost Engelmayer	....	lighting technician
Martin Fischer	....	additional electrician
Claus Gerling	....	dolly grip
Judith Kaufmann	....	second camera operator
Andreas Neubauer	....	still photographer
Martina Radwan	....	Steadicam assistant
Martina Radwan	....	assistant camera
Ronald Schwarz	....	best boy
Marco Teuchert	....	lighting technician
Jörg Widmer	....	Steadicam operator
Jörg Widmer	....	first assistant camera

Animation Department
Peter Tabbert	....	computer animator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marianne Birck	....	wardrober
Andrea Schirmer	....	wardrober
Ingrid Weiss	....	wardrober

Music Department
Jane Siberry	....	musician

Other crew
Peter Bartoschek	....	title designer
Waltraud Bartoschek	....	title designer
Karsten Bruening	....	first recording manager
Gerd Feuchter	....	weapons
Steffi Hiller	....	production accountant
Anton Klima	....	aerial coordinator
Katrin Mehlhop	....	continuity
Karl Nefzer	....	weapons
Ralph Remstedt	....	second recording manager

Production Companies

• Bioskop Film
• Road Movies Filmproduktion

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Classics (1993) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Sony Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Cinemussy (Spain)
• Columbia TriStar (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• EDKO Film (Hong Kong)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Tobis Filmkunst (Germany)

Also Known As:

Faraway, So Close! (USA)

Runtime:

144 min | USA:140 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | French | English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Germany:6 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Alexanderplatz, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Bioskop Film

Trivia:

When Cassiel walks through the underground after becoming a human, there's a poster of Lou Reed in the background. Lou Reed plays himself in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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:

Emit Flesti: Have you heard the prophecy? "In the Year of Hate, when all that is foreign is despised, dark riders will enter the harbor, seize the ship and everyone on it and sail them straight into hell"
Cassiel: I know all prophecy, but not this one. You made it up.
Emit Flesti: What's the difference? It just happened.

Movie Connections:

References Börn náttúrunnar (1991)

Soundtrack:

Berlin

Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder

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.