time so the rest can take over the barge and save the entire party. Cassiel's friends are saddened by his death, but when Damiel hears a ring in his ear, he understands that Cassiel has been reinstated as an angel and is near, and Damiel laughs in joy. Cast Themes Writers later assessed the film as having more religious themes than the original. Peter Hasenberg wrote it contains the two films' first reference to God, when the angels state a purpose to connect humans with "Him". Andrew Tate noted a quote from Matthew 6:22 and Matthew 6:23 in the film, attributing this to Wenders personally converting back to Christianity in the time between the original and sequel. Tate also noted Faraway, So Close! is followed by the 1998 U.S. remake City of Angels, which he said references "mythic phenomena". Professor Martin Jesinghausen judged the sequel to differ from the original's presumption that the Berlin Wall would never fall, and concluded the lack of divides made the sequel "less powerful". Professor Roger Bromley defended Faraway, So Close! as more than a mere sequel, saying it is "fairly formless" but this is fitting for the "incomplete modernity" in film and life following the Revolutions of 1989. Academic Roger Cook argued that, as with the original and Wenders' 1984 road movie Paris, Texas, Faraway, So Close! advocates for "narrative's potential to sustain both individual and cultural identity". Production Director Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire is set in Berlin at the time of the Wall. He opted to make a sequel, desiring to explore Berlin post-reunification, more so than for the sake of having a sequel, though the original ends with "To be continued". Wenders had earlier planned to make a film about the evolved Berlin in 1991, but not with Wings of Desire characters, only doing so upon considering that only his angels could observe the moral changes he found problematic. Otto Sander, who reprises his role as the angel Cassiel, wished to see him become human, an idea unresolved in the first film. Wenders credited Sander with the idea of Cassiel descending into crime. Richard Reitinger and Ulrich Ziegler wrote the bulk of the screenplay, with Wenders also credited. Due to the larger budget than the original, Road Movies Filmproduktion made the film without original producer Anatole Dauman and Argos. The film features cameo appearances by the singer Lou Reed, the