FARAWAY, SO CLOSE!
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 6.9
Date Released: varies Running Length: 2:20 Rated: PG-13 (Language, violence, mature themes)
Starring: Otto Sander, Horst Buchholz, Bruno Ganz, Nastassja Kinski, Peter Falk, Solveig Dommartin, Willem Dafoe Director: Wim Wenders Producer: Ulrich Felsberg Screenplay: Wim Wenders and Richard Retinger Music: Laurent Petitgand Released by Sony Pictures Classics In German, French, and English with subtitles
1988's WINGS OF DESIRE was an excellent example of a true "art film," with the medium of cinema used as a canvas by a director (Wim Wenders, in this case). WINGS OF DESIRE was a provocative, evocative look at life, love, and humanity that was at times spiritually elevating and at others pretentious and silly. At the conclusion of the movie, we were promised a sequel, but it has taken six years for the next chapter, FARAWAY, SO CLOSE! to begin creeping its away across U.S. screens.
As FARAWAY, SO CLOSE! opens, Cassiel (Otto Sander) is still an angel, gazing down on humanity in the company of the equally celestial Raphaela (Nastassja Kinski). He doesn't keep his wings for long, however, as he allows himself to become human to save the life of a girl who has fallen from a high-rise balcony. Cassiel is quickly reunited with former angel Damiel (Bruno Ganz), who now has a family and is running a pizza parlor. But the transition from immortal to human isn't as easy for Cassiel as it was for his friend, and he soon becomes involved with an underworld kingpin (Horst Buchholz). Meanwhile, a mysterious entity by the name of Emit Flesti (Willem Dafoe--spell the character's name backwards) stalks Cassiel.
FARAWAY, SO CLOSE! begins very much as WINGS OF DESIRE did, with a pair of angels watching the lives of various mortals. Whereas this portion of the first movie made up the bulk of the running time, in the sequel, it's merely a prologue. Before the first half-hour is up, Cassiel has become human and we're watching as he struggles to comprehend what has happened to him.
As Wings was Damiel's story, so FARAWAY is Cassiel's. This is not the light, mystical romance of its predecessor, but a somewhat muddled narrative that ends up resembling an offbeat action/adventure movie. It's still a film about issues--humanity, the soul, time, and Nazism--but it lacks many of the "art" aspect of WINGS, relying more on straightforward storytelling.
There's a lot about the climactic struggle that doesn't work. Even though we aren't given a heavy dose of Hollywood-type violence, the sequence seems wrong not only for the film, but for the series as a whole. Anyone watching the beginning of Wings will find it difficult to come to grips with this as the story's culmination.
The cast is excellent. It's nice to see Bruno Ganz and Solveig Dommartin (Marion) together again, although their importance is greatly reduced from Wings. Obviously, Otto Sander has the most difficult role, and he carries it out impeccably. Peter Falk is back as a somewhat satirized version of himself, and Lou Reed and Mikhail Gorbachev make cameos. Horst Buchholz plays his role as the American-type gangster with relish, and Willem Dafoe is suitably creepy in an ambiguous, and largely unexplained, part.
Even though this movie is in many ways more straightforward than the original, it is still likely to appeal only to a select audience. Mr. Wenders has intentionally taken FARAWAY, SO CLOSE! down a different path from WINGS OF DESIRE. The characters are the same, but the circumstances are often vastly different, as are the methods of storytelling. In some cases, the changes are right on the mark--there's no need to re-hash what's already been done--but there are other occasions when Mr. Wenders comes dangerously close to self-parody.
About the only thing I can say regarding a recommendation is that a viewing of WINGS OF DESIRE is almost mandatory before seeing FARAWAY, SO CLOSE! Going into this film without the background of its predecessor will leave a movie-goer adrift and confused. On the other hand, sitting through WINGS OF DESIRE doesn't guarantee enjoyment of the sequel (in fact, many fans of the first will probably be sorely disappointed by the turn that this script takes), but going cold into FARAWAY, SO CLOSE! will almost certainly lead to a negative experience.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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