{ "id": "epjm7ay4gf", "slug": "in-weiter-ferne-so-nah", "title": "In weiter Ferne, so nah!", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3.yr-1990-1995", "label": "Released 1990 to 1995", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3.yr-1990-1995" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy" } ] } ], "excerpt": "In weiter Ferne, so nah! (Faraway, So Close!) is Wim Wenders' 1993 sequel to Wings of Desire, in which the angel Cassiel becomes human in reunited Berlin, winning Cannes' Grand Jury Prize.", "snippet": "In weiter Ferne, so nah! (Faraway, So Close!) is Wim Wenders' 1993 sequel to Wings of Desire, in which the angel Cassiel becomes human in reunited Berlin, winning Cannes' Grand Jury Prize.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3.yr-1990-1995", "markdown": "# In weiter Ferne, so nah!\n\n**In weiter Ferne, so nah!** (released in English as *Faraway, So Close!*) is a 1993 fantasy drama film directed by [Wim Wenders](https://www.edgepedia.org/wim-wenders) and the sequel to his 1987 film *Wings of Desire* (*Der Himmel über Berlin*). Set in Berlin three years after the fall of the Wall, it follows the angel Cassiel, who gives up his immortality to save a child's life and must find his way in the reunited, morally uncertain city.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca) • [2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) The film competed at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and won the [Grand Prix](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-prix-cannes-film-festival) du Jury.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writers | Wim Wenders, with screenplay by Wenders, Ulrich Zieger, and Richard Reitinger[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) |\n| Production | Road Movies Filmproduktion GmbH (Berlin) and Tobis Filmkunst; Germany/USA co-production, 1992/1993[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca) |\n| Format | 35 mm, color and black-and-white, Dolby Stereo; 146 minutes (4,001 m)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca) |\n| Principal cast | Otto Sander (Cassiel), Bruno Ganz (Damiel), Nastassja Kinski (Raphaela), Horst Buchholz (Tony Baker), Willem Dafoe (Emit Flesti), Peter Falk, Solveig Dommartin, Heinz Rühmann[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) |\n| Awards | Grand Prix du Jury, Cannes 1993; Bavarian Film Award 1994 for Best Direction; German Film Award 1994, Filmband in Gold for Best Cinematography (Jürgen Jürges)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca) |\n| Release | Premiere at Cannes on 17/18 May 1993; German theatrical release 9 September 1993[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca) • [2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) |\n| Critical scores | Metacritic 61/100 from 17 critics; Rotten Tomatoes 54% positive among 13 reviews[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/faraway-so-close%21/critic-reviews/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/faraway-so-close) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe film picks up where *Wings of Desire* left off. Damiel ([Bruno Ganz](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruno-ganz)), the angel who became human out of love for the trapeze artist Marion (Solveig Dommartin), now runs the pizzeria \"Da Angelo\" in Berlin and the two have a child.[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) His former companion Cassiel (Otto Sander), described by the Cannes festival as \"the angel of tears\", grows increasingly dissatisfied with his fate as a powerless observer who can only comfort people, never intervene in their destinies.[5](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/)\n\nWhen Cassiel sees the little girl Raissa falling from the balcony of a high-rise, he catches her, and through this act he becomes mortal, irreversibly.[6](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_ea43d4a6a19d5006e03053d50b37753d) As the human Karl Engel he wanders the streets of the reunited city, disoriented by its cold commercial bustle, and is soon drawn into a shady milieu as assistant to the German-American businessman Tony Baker ([Horst Buchholz](https://www.edgepedia.org/horst-buchholz)), who profits from illegal arms deals and trades pornographic films eastward in exchange for weapons.[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) He also encounters the Mephistophelean Emit Flesti ([Willem Dafoe](https://www.edgepedia.org/willem-dafoe)), a figure who seems to embody \"time itself\"; the name is an anagram of that phrase.[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) • [7](https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/Wenders-weiter-ferne-nah.htm) When Cassiel discovers Baker's Nazi past and criminal business, he enlists Damiel, Peter Falk, and Marion's circus-artist friends to break into the weapons depot beneath the old Tempelhof airport and send the crates of Kalashnikovs floating down the Spree.[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) In the climax, Karl swings on a long trapeze from a boat lift to rescue Raissa, who has been taken hostage, and is shot by the gangsters; the film ends with his burial and Damiel's sense that Cassiel is present again as an invisible angel.[7](https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/Wenders-weiter-ferne-nah.htm)\n\n## Production\n\nWenders shot the film from 14 July to 3 October 1992 in Berlin and at the Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow boat lift, three years after the fall of the Wall.[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) Berlin had become a different city, and Wenders judged that he could best tell that change with the same figures from the first film.[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) Whereas *Wings of Desire* had been forbidden to shoot in [East Berlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-berlin), the sequel could balance its portrait across the whole reunited city.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-21-ca-3999-story.html)\n\nThe production was a German-American co-production of Road Movies Filmproduktion and Tobis Filmkunst, with Ulrich Felsberg as executive producer and world sales handled by [HanWay Films](https://www.edgepedia.org/hanway-films).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca) • [2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) Wenders told the Christian Science Monitor that he had expected the film to be less ambitious than *Wings of Desire*, but it turned out to cost twice as much; he considered the earlier film a \"poem\" while the sequel was an \"explicit\" examination of the issues embodied by his angel characters.[9](https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/1216/16152.html)\n\n## Cast and cameos\n\nWenders assembled what he called the most improbable casting he had ever put together.[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) Heinz Rühmann, the beloved German actor born in 1902, appears as the old man Konrad in his final film role; he died in 1994.[10](https://www.cinema.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah%2C1317778.html) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://www.edgepedia.org/mikhail-gorbachev), the former Soviet president, plays a world leader who sits at his desk and dreams of global peace, a cameo the Christian Science Monitor called the most unexpected of the year.[9](https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/1216/16152.html) [Lou Reed](https://www.edgepedia.org/lou-reed) appears as himself, strumming a new song, and [Peter Falk](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-falk) returns in an expanded appearance as \"Himself\".[11](https://www.timeout.com/movies/faraway-so-close) Henri Alekan, cinematographer of the first film, has a walk-on part as a ship's captain in the final sequence.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-21-ca-3999-story.html) • [12](https://www.sandiegoreader.com/movies/faraway-so-close/)\n\n## Music\n\nLaurent Petitgand wrote the romantic score, with David Darling contributing solo cello.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-21-ca-3999-story.html) • [2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) The soundtrack contrasts the score with contemporary songs by Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, U2, Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, Jane Siberry, and others; [Nick Cave](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-cave)'s \"Cassiel's Song\" accompanies the end titles.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-21-ca-3999-story.html) • [2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) U2's song \"Stay\", written by Bono with music by [Adam Clayton](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-clayton), The Edge, and [Larry Mullen Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-mullen-jr), was nominated for the 1994 Golden Globe for Best Original Song.[13](https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt0107209/awards/)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film premiered in competition at Cannes in May 1993. Reception there was cool; the Christian Science Monitor reported that it \"was not received with much enthusiasm\", even though admirers secured the special Grand Jury Prize on closing night.[9](https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/1216/16152.html) The German theatrical release followed on 9 September 1993.[2](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/)\n\nCritical response was divided. On Metacritic the film scored 61 out of 100 from 17 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews; Caryn James of The New York Times called it \"lyrical and profoundly goofy\" and \"one of the more intriguing messes on screen\".[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/faraway-so-close%21/critic-reviews/) Rotten Tomatoes records 54% positive among 13 critics.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/faraway-so-close) Time Out found the film a sprawling disappointment lacking any sense of form, while the Los Angeles Times' Kevin Thomas judged it a demanding but rewarding meditation that could be taken as an allegory of the coming together of the two Germanys.[11](https://www.timeout.com/movies/faraway-so-close) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-21-ca-3999-story.html)\n\nRuntime figures differ across sources: the German federal film portal lists the original at 146 minutes, the Cannes festival page gives 165 minutes, and several home-video and review listings give 140 or 144 minutes; the German theatrical version was cut by 22 minutes relative to the Cannes version.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca) • [5](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/) • [14](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/52366/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah)\n\n## Assessment\n\nThe film's standing rests on a tension its commentators describe consistently: Otto Sander's gentle, wistful Cassiel and Jürgen Jürges's camera work, honored with the German Film Award, carry a poetic, warm-hearted parable, while the crime-thriller plot around Tony Baker is widely judged trivial and poorly timed.[14](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/52366/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah) • [7](https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/Wenders-weiter-ferne-nah.htm) German-language critics added that the film risks dissolving into side plots on post-Wall commerce, organized crime, and the Nazi past, and that Wenders appears to quote his own earlier work.[14](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/52366/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah) • [15](https://www.wissen.de/lexikon/weiter-ferne-so-nah) The film nonetheless remains the canonical continuation of *Wings of Desire*, read as a portrait of Berlin after reunification, with the rubble of [Potsdamer Platz](https://www.edgepedia.org/potsdamer-platz) giving way to the mirrored towers of capitalism.[16](https://press.moma.org/wp-content/files_mf/wimwenders_screeningschedule.pdf)\n\n## References\n\n1. [In weiter Ferne, so nah!, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_d1b9e04ad8ac463ea5b8fbaff01fb4ca)\n2. [In weiter Ferne, so nah!, Wim Wenders Stiftung](https://wimwendersstiftung.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/)\n3. [Faraway, So Close! critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/faraway-so-close%21/critic-reviews/)\n4. [Faraway, So Close!, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/faraway-so-close)\n5. [IN WEITER FERNE, SO NAH!, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah/)\n6. [In weiter Ferne, so nah! (English page), filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah_ea43d4a6a19d5006e03053d50b37753d)\n7. [In weiter Ferne, so nah!, Dieter Wunderlich review and synopsis](https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/Wenders-weiter-ferne-nah.htm)\n8. [Kevin Thomas, \"'Faraway, So Close': Wim Wenders' Spiritual Odyssey\", Los Angeles Times, 21 December 1993](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-21-ca-3999-story.html)\n9. [David Sterritt, \"Director Wim Wenders's Angels\", Christian Science Monitor, 16 December 1993](https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/1216/16152.html)\n10. [In weiter Ferne, so nah!, cinema.de](https://www.cinema.de/film/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah%2C1317778.html)\n11. [Faraway, So Close review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/faraway-so-close)\n12. [Duncan Shepherd review, San Diego Reader](https://www.sandiegoreader.com/movies/faraway-so-close/)\n13. [In weiter Ferne, so nah! awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt0107209/awards/)\n14. [In weiter Ferne, so nah!, Filmdienst review](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/52366/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah)\n15. [In weiter Ferne, so nah, wissen.de lexicon](https://www.wissen.de/lexikon/weiter-ferne-so-nah)\n16. [Wim Wenders screening schedule, MoMA press](https://press.moma.org/wp-content/files_mf/wimwenders_screeningschedule.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s › Released 1990 to 1995*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"In weiter Ferne, so nah!\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[In weiter Ferne, so nah!](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"In weiter Ferne, so nah!\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/in-weiter-ferne-so-nah. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "In weiter Ferne, so nah! is Wim Wenders' 1993 sequel to Wings of Desire, in which the angel Cassiel becomes human in reunited Berlin, winning Cannes' Grand Jury Prize." }