Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
76 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Thought-Provoking Companion Piece to "Wings of Desire", December 27, 2001
Unlike the angel in "Wings of Desire," who longed to be human to experience the pleasures and satisfactions of being in a physical body, the angel in "Faraway So Close" (more a companion piece than a sequel to "Wings of Desire") longs to be human to see through man's eyes and discover why human beings find it so difficult to experience the spiritual.The angel reborn into a physical body learns the harsh lessons of life: humans can barely see beyond their own physical bodies much less glimpse the spiritual world; time passes quickly and often leaves one behind in the dust without anyone noticing or caring; and the bitterness of loneliness is a terrible thing. This is in direct contradistinction to the angel in "Wings of Desire." That angel finds joy and satisfaction in love, work and family. Wenders, therefore, brilliantly shows us both sides of the human coin. The postive side is reflected in "Wings of Desire" and represent love and growth and the negative side is reflected in "Faraway So Close" and signify loneliness and decay. Although "Faraway So Close" sacrifices the originality that "Wings of Desire" offered us, it makes up for it by completing the human picture; for "Wings of Desire" and this film form a complete and compelling whole.
|
|
|
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great one from Wim Wenders, June 30, 2000
This is the sequel to Wenders 1987 masterpiece "Wings of Desire", a film that if you haven't seen you are only depriving yourself! In this film viewers are returned to Berlin (albeit in the post-Cold War era), to see how Cassiel struggles with the barrier that exists between men and angels (for those of you who have not seen "Wings of Desire" - Cassiel is an angel). As with the first film, the angels in this movie watch over humans as if they are there own charges. Casssiel's problems eminate from his desire to make contact with these people, much the same way that Damiel did in "Wings of Desire". Cassiel achieves his wish when he is forced to a make a split-second decision to save a young girl's life. By interceding he becomes a part of the world he had only been able to view from afar. The rest of the movie thus focuses on how Cassiel deals with the pressures and stresses of being "human". I don't want to give away too much of the story so I'll stop my description here. There is an all star cast in this movie, such as; Nastassja Kinski, Willem Dafoe, Peter Falk, and what must have been a real coup - Mikhail Gorbachev! Don't prejudge this film if you wasted your time on that second rate, Hollywood knock-off "City of Angels" starring Nicholas Cage. This by far a superior movie. A+++++++
|
|
|
39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ENTERTAINING ANGELS..., July 29, 2003
"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2The world's three great religions incorporate angels as real, created entities, messengers between the world of mortals and God. And movies about angels, both good and bad, will always be messengers of film entertainment. Here's a new to DVD title about a good angel that's worthy of your time. FAR AWAY, SO CLOSE! is the flip side to "Wings of Desire." Here, instead of desiring to be flesh and blood, the angel seeks to understand why humans have such a hard time experiencing the spiritual. These two films, taken together, offer a stunning and profoundly moving picture of the bittersweet, paradoxical and all-too-brief human experience. Both are of the highest order of mature filmmaking: intelligent, emotional, and visually stunning. They provide a memorable, meaningful and authentic experience about life's deepest mysteries. We are indeed spiritual beings having a human experience.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
DVD ~ Bruno Ganz
DVD ~ Rüdiger Vogler
DVD ~ Franka Potente
DVD ~ Martina Gedeck
DVD ~ Harry Dean Stanton
