Faraway, so close (4 Stars)

Some angels can survive a fall, others can't. After becoming a human in "Wings of Desire" Damiel (Bruno Ganz) has settled into normal human life. He's married with a five-year-old daughter, and he runs a pizzeria. Now he's an Italian, which was an easy feat for him to achieve, because as an angel he could speak every human language. He's named his pizzeria Casa Dell'Angelo, "The angel's house".

It's more difficult for the angel Cassiel. After Damiel leaves he spends his evenings exchanging experiences with the angel Raphaela. He misses his old friend, and he is also starting to long for human experience. In the end he becomes human not because of a woman, but in order to save a child from falling to her death. That's a noble motive, but the lack of love in his new life is probably the reason for his failure. He gambles away the 200 Marks that he's given for his divine armour. He gets drunk and sleeps on the streets. Finally he makes a new start by working for an American gangster who sells pornographic films and illegal firearms. Sex and violence.

This film is a sequel to "Wings of Desire", but Bruno Ganz is no longer the leading actor. It's Cassiel's story. Here we see Bruno looking contented with Solveig Dommartin. Life can be good, but it can also be bad, as Cassiel finds out through bitter experiences.