i must have seen a different film!!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is my favorite movie of all time. I saw it at its time of release and now own it on DVD. It brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. The movie really portrays the complexities of us human beings, so wonderful and yet so frail. Cassiel discovers that life as a human is much harder than he thought, but despite the despair and temptations, there is hope and tenderness... I haven't seen the Wings of Desire -only its very bad Hollywood remake, City of Angels- but I don't think you have to see that other movie, so called prequel, to appreciate this beautiful film. Cassiel becomes a human for his love of all human kind, not one particular person... that's a great definition of unconditional love.

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?

I recommend this film to all the jaded and cynical people of the world. It will touch the core of your heart and give you a spiritual yearning for that which we cannot see. When Cassiel falls to earth he can finally touch, feel, hear and experience the feelings of loneliness and joy. He finds his existence on earth in Berlin difficult and finds it hard to comprehend the swift passing of time and the limited outlook of the individual who can only see their own reality in how it affects them. Natassja Kinski who plays Angel Raphaela is on hand to offer comfort and solace to Cassiel when he begins to despair. The sweeping contrasts between black & white and colour add profound depth to this movie, as do the real people who play themselves : Gorbachev, Lou Reed and Peter Falk. Wim Wenders who directed this movie is a foresighted genius of compassion and ethereal visions.

This film is about passion. A flicker on the eyes of an angel, our brief lives are as unique and intense as they are ephemeral, and time itself is the fire that burn our passions and desires. Complex and multicultural, the film is disturbingly deep as it is light, a contrast of innocence and evil, showing how the Faust compromise can be present and right/wrong can become difficult to define. Also, the participation of Lou Reed and Peter Falk as themselves bring Faust to reality, as a mirror to ourselves. The deeply german Wenders pay a compliment to Gorbatchev for the fall of the Wall, maybe telling us the duality of time, that can be good and evil like the faces of a coin. Wonderful piece of art.