Far Away, So Close

UPC: 043396799691

Studio: Columbia TriStar

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Questionable for Children]

Summary: Wim Wenders revisits his masterpiece Der Himmel Uber Berlin in this film which picks up several years after the original left off. Cassiel (Otto Sander) is an angel who watches over the lives of the people of recently reunified Berlin with Raphaella (Nastassja Kinski). Damiel (Bruno Ganz), Cassiel's former partner who opted to return to the land of the living in the first film, now lives happily as a pizza chef with the woman he loved and married, circus performer Marion (Solveig Dommartin). While angels are forbidden to directly intervene in the lives of humans, Cassiel impulsively breaks this rule when a little girl falls from the balcony of an apartment block, and he swoops down to catch her. Suddenly made flesh and blood, Cassiel has earned the enmity of Emit Flesti (Willem Dafoe), a sort of overseer of the angels on the physical plane. Emit makes it his business to make things difficult for Cassiel now that he's living among the humans, and after a period of alcoholism and imprisonment, Cassiel finds himself working for gangster Tony Baker (Horst Buchholz), who distributes weapons and pornography on the black market. However, Cassiel has a change of heart and decides to destroy Tony's stockpile in a bid to make the world a better place. Peter Falk, who played himself in Der Himmel Uber Berlin, makes a return appearance when a gallery shows the sketches that he was making in the first film; rock singer Lou Reed and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev also appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Fantasy

Awards: Best Original Song – null Best Original Song – null Grand Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Digitally remastered audio and anamorphic video
Audio: original German 2-channel [Dolby Surround]
Additional audio: French
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish & Portuguese
Director Wim Wenders' audio commentary
Theatrical trailers
Production notes
Scene selections
Interactive menus

Far Away, So Close

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 09/12/2000

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 146 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) German,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish,Portuguese

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Widescreen Version
0. Scene Selections
1. Start [6:56]
2. A Time for Everything [3:31]
3. Seeking Konrad [3:07]
4. An Old Eagle [2:44]
5. Tale of a Tooth [5:59]
6. Damiel & Doria [2:32]
7. Marion [5:40]
8. Winter & Marion [1:50]
9. Talking Turkey [5:26]
10. Room 612 [1:18]
11. Looking for Ruhlsberg [4:43]
12. Saving Raissa [8:03]
13. Emit & Raphaela [:49]
14. Ralph Raven [8:30]
15. Lou Reed Concert [3:55]
16. A Drink with Flesti [4:00]
17. Breakfast Robbery [4:46]
18. Karl Meets Lou Reed [1:39]
19. At the Museum [:14]
20. Karl's Flying Lesson [8:53]
21. The Warehouse [8:03]
22. Telling His Story [13:18]
23. Columbo [8:22]
24. Back at the Warehouse [7:56]
25. An Old Prophesy [5:58]
26. Hostages [1:39]
27. Rescuing Raissa [5:29]
28. "You whom we love." [4:13]

Andrea LeVasseur

The lyrical romance Wings of Desire gets a lighter, less developed sequel in Faraway, So Closefrom director Wim Wenders. As the first film was centered on the angel Damiel (Bruno Ganz) becoming human to be with his love, circus performer Marion(Solveig Dommartin), this story revolves around the less intriguing story of Cassiel (Otto Sander), who questions his angel. The pain of observing humanity without interfering is explored as Cassielcrosses over in an attempt to right some of the wrongs he has witnessed. Wenders works in both color and black-and-white to switch between the angelic and mortal worlds, and he has the newly unified Berlin to wander around in. However, the story wanders around a bit too much when Emit Flesti (Willem Dafoe) arrives to make all sorts of trouble for the newly mortalCassiel. The involvement with gangsters and weapons dealers leads the story into several different directions, making for an overabundance of subplots. Random characters get the tale off track, especially the old chauffer, played by Heinz Ruhmann. Though overlong and meandering, Faraway, So Close offers some worthy spontaneous philosophical moments. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Yella Rottländer  Actor 
Susanne Jansen  Actor 
Horst Buchholz  Actor 
Günter Meisner  Actor 
Roberto Benigni  Actor 
Nadja Engel  Actor 
Gerd Wameling  Actor 
Hanns Zischler  Actor 
Lajos Kovács  Actor 
Ronald Nitschke  Actor 
Hildegarde Knef  Actor 
Henri Alékan  Actor 
Monika Hansen  Actor 
Udo Samel  Actor 
Alexander Hauff  Actor 
Marijam Agischewa  Actor 
Lou Reed  Composer (Music Score) 
Ulrich Felsberg  Producer 
Laurent Petitgand  Composer (Music Score) 
Richard Reitinger  Screenwriter 
Wim Wenders  Director 
Wim Wenders  Producer 
Wim Wenders  Screenwriter 
Ulrich Zieger  Screenwriter 
Otto Sander  Actor 
Peter Falk  Actor 
Nastassja Kinski  Actor 
Heinz Rühmann  Actor 
Bruno Ganz  Actor 
Solveig Dommartin  Actor 
Rüdiger Vogler  Actor 
Lou Reed  Actor 
Willem Dafoe  Actor 
Mikhail Gorbachev  Actor 

Country: Germany