Faraway, So Close!
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Movie Reviews of Faraway, So Close!
Movie Review: Not as good as its' predesessor
Summary: 3 Stars
Most of the previous comments are appropriate. My question is: how on earth can anyone justify having this available in DVD format as opposed to the far superior Wings of Desire, which remains available only in VHS?Movie Review: i love this movie but...
Summary: 3 Stars
the dvd version lacks a scene! (as far as i notice) just before the end, when the circus people retake the ship.Movie Review: Not even close!
Summary: 2 Stars
In Wim Wender's follow-up to "Wings of Desire," the angel Cassiel (Otto Sandler) becomes human and struggles with the depravity and the spiritual blindness of mortals to establish a moral life. Becoming confused along the way, he flirts with addiction and criminality. The previous film was nearly plotless, achieving its effect by revealing the thoughts of random humans so that we could perceive ourselves just as the angels perceive us. The result was surreal wordplay juxtaposed with provocative images.
By contrast, this film is nothing but plot, as Cassiel meets so many people and becomes involved in so many outlandish events that it becomes impossible to care about any of it. Peter Falk's cameo as a former angel doesn't work this time around, nor does veteran Velvet Underground rocker Lou Reed, whose inclusion seems to be nothing more than an egregious case of star worship. Throw in gangsters, circus performers, and a rescue by bungee cord that climaxes the film, and you are left with a complete mess./
Movie Review: A major dissapointment
Summary: 2 Stars
I liked Wings of Desire so much that I rented and watched this sequel. Frankly it was major dissapointment to me. It seems Wenders tries to have a "real plot" and some "action" in the movie. But the story is incoherent and laughable at some points.Movie Review: A Wearied Disappointment - NOTE: Some Plot Spoilers in Review
Summary: 1 Stars
The first hour of this film follows the majesty, strength of "Wings of Desire" (Himmel Uber Berlin). The otherworldy and worldly resonate together on the screen. Philosophy, compassion, the Angel longing for Life is here again, played out again and again, for the first hour; I was entranced.
But when the Angel becomes Man, becomes Karl Engel, the film begins to lose focus, the pathos is weakened and characters becomes hard to relate to, especially Cassiel (now Karl Engel in human form). He becomes a thief, an alcoholic, gets mixed up with a mobster, does him a favor and from then on, everything becomes convoluted and strained, the plot faltering, the philosophy filled with platitudes. Even Willem Defoe's character becomes less intriguing and Raphaela (played by Kinksi) just another ball to jungle in the mess. Throw in the fact that the mobster was born in Germany and raised in America and finds his sister, the one who stayed behind during the second World War and you get the idea. (Even writing this review, I feel convoluted...)
And the ending, my word, so many loose ends and Wim Wenders expects the audience to just ignore them in the pseudo-grandeur of the last five minutes. Not to mention the anti-climatic antics of Karl Engel.
In Wim Wender's first film about angels becoming human, he remained faithful to his vision from the beginning. In this one, he starts out on one note, tries to Hollywoodize it with the next note, only attempting to go back to his original idea in the end. It feels like he started making a house of card, stopped used the cards, began to use domino pieces - the thing collapses and he goes back to using cards.
If you loved the first film, watch only the first hour of this. It should have been a short film. The only thing great that came out of this movie was the U2 music video, "Faraway, So Close" which I feel captures more of the magic of Wim Wenders' first film than this 'movie'.