Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- lyrical
- wistful
- philosophical
- reflective evening
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly admired the film's luminous cinematography, ambitious metaphysical ideas, and casting while finding its sprawling narrative inconsistent and uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Cassiel, Damiel, and Raphaela watch Berlin's humans from an otherworldly vantage while the film follows intersecting human experiences.
Berlin functions simultaneously as a recognizable German capital and a liminal space inhabited by angels and human lives.
Critics repeatedly characterized the film as lyrical, luminous, and profoundly goofy, reflecting its mixture of solemn fantasy and comic eccentricity.
The angels look longingly upon human life, making physical existence and emotional participation central to the drama.
Films like Faraway, So Close!, and why
Wings of Desire
lyrical urban fantasy, angelic observers, philosophical melancholy, and a European art-film sensibility
City of Angels
romantic fantasy built around supernatural beings observing and intervening in human lives
The Double Life of Véronique
dreamlike metaphysical drama using a major city as a space for spiritual and emotional reflection
A Matter of Life and Death
poetic fantasy drama balancing earthly relationships with supernatural perspectives
Movie Details
- Director
- Wim Wenders
- Release Date
- 1993-09-01
- Runtime
- 147 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (186)
Cast
- Otto Sander
- Bruno Ganz
- Nastassja Kinski
- Peter Falk
- Solveig Dommartin
- Heinz Rühmann
- Rüdiger Vogler
- Willem Dafoe
- Horst Buchholz
- Martin Olbertz
Common questions
- What is Faraway, So Close! about?
- Angelic observers drift through Berlin in a luminous, eccentric meditation on human longing, friendship, and the desire to enter earthly life.
- What is Faraway, So Close! like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Faraway, So Close! as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Faraway, So Close! violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Faraway, So Close!.
- What did critics think of Faraway, So Close!?
- Critics broadly admired the film's luminous cinematography, ambitious metaphysical ideas, and casting while finding its sprawling narrative inconsistent and uneven.
- Which films are like Faraway, So Close!?
- Films with a similar feel include Wings of Desire, City of Angels, The Double Life of Véronique, and A Matter of Life and Death.
- How long is Faraway, So Close!?
- Faraway, So Close! runs 147 minutes.
