‘Faraway, So Close’ By Rita Kempley Washington Post Staff Writer February 11, 1994

Director: Wim Wenders Cast: Otto Sander; Peter Falk; Horst Buchholz; Willem Dafoe; Nastassja Kinski; Heinz Ruhmann; Bruno Ganz; Solveig Dommartin; Rudiger Volger; Lou Reed violence In German and French (with English subtitles) and English Compare prices for this movie Find local video stores More movie shopping Save money with NextCard Visa

Wenderian angels have wings, great gawky papier-mache things worn only for special occasions, like a tux, since they are no good for hovering. They bring them out on occasion, but their primary trappings are Italian overcoats and the kinds of ponytails worn by Hollywood agents. They spend the majority of their time in rueful contemplation of weighty matters that mere mortals simply cannot grasp. "We are the messengers to bring the message. ... You whom we love do not hear us," muses Cassiel (Otto Sander) as he watches his old now-human friend Damiel pedaling his pizza cart across the platz.

Like the original, "Wings 2" is endearing, even if it is a spiritual muddle. It is rapturously photographed and drunk on its own metaphysical hyperbole. Like most sequels -- the exception would be "The Godfather, Part II" -- it's a second helping, though it helps that Wenders is serving angel dust.

This time around, the story focuses on Cassiel, who has found a new confidante in the heavenly Raphaela (Nastassja Kinski), a stunning seraph yet to grow weary of eternal vigilance. From their roost atop Berlin's Angel of Victory, the friends listen in on the internal monologue of the populace: "West Berlin looks like East Berlin. What's the fuss?" "I gave you ice cream when you had a sore throat." And so on and so forth.

Certain that people are more miserable than ever, Cassiel falls into a funk because he is unable to do more than comfort his charges. Although sometimes he acts as a muse, whispering a really dumb song into Lou Reed's ear or influencing a speech by Mikhail Gorbachev (as himself).

(Like the crew of the Starship Enterprise, angels observe a prime directive of noninterference.) As time passes, which it does rather slowly, Cassiel toys with the notion of "crossing."

Then one day while making his rounds, one of his favorite charges -- the precocious Raissa (Aline Krajewski) -- slips from a 10th-floor balcony, and Cassiel without thinking sheds his celestial status to save her. His ponytail immediately falls off as does the customary piece of body armor. Alas, Cassiel's descent was not part of the "master plan," which is a problem for Emit Flesti (Willem Dafoe), a supernatural being who keeps time for both the secular and angelic worlds.

The tale grows gnarlier when Cassiel, briefly a homeless alcoholic, becomes the lieutenant of a pornographer-arms dealer and decides to destroy his vile cache in hopes of making the world a better place. With help from Peter Falk (reprising his role as himself), Damiel, the French circus performer he married (Solveig Dommartin) and their acrobat friends, Cassiel blows up the films and spirits away the weapons in a series of scenes that involve bungee-jumping angels and munitions removal by flying trapeze. And do the feathers fly.

Wenders, whose love for the conventions of the American gangster movie also comes in for a nod, is as usual working without a net. He could use a good pair of wings, but you get the feeling he travels in the company of angels, that he believes in their consolation and care. That notion pervades "Faraway, So Close," which for all its outlandishness is peddling a traditional message of hope and grace. It's a Wenderful Life. Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his ponytail.

"Faraway, So Close" is rated PG-13 for violence. In German and French (with English subtitles) and English.

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