-ri 8- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 30, 1994 Wenders comes close but still too far By SCOTT PLAGENHOEF "Faraway, So Close!" continues the recent trend in film of beginning with the original and ending up with Faraway, So Close! Written by Wim Wenders and Richard Reitinger; directed by Wenders; with Otto Sander, Willem Dafoe and Nastassia Kinski. the conventional. "Blue," "Reality Bites" and now the latest Wim Wenders film begin with ambition and become wasted potential. To say that "Faraway" is original may be misleading because it is the sequel to Wenders' film "Wings of Desire." "Faraway, So Close!" is also about angels. The two films share many of the same characters, but you don't need to see one before the other. Although why Peter Falk is the only mortal who can see the angels is a mystery to those unfamiliar with the original. The picture begins with the angel Cassiel (Otto Sander) and his cherubic friend (Nastassia Kinski) observing the oft-broken and mundane lives of Berliners. The angels, unaffected by the passage of time, examine the human condition through their comments and the thoughts of the mortals they overlook. The observances and musings of the angels, sometimes lofty, oftentimes poignant and thought- provoking, serve as a road map to the emotions of the detached Berliners who in some cases lived through the Third Reich, and in all cases experienced the reunification of the country and the city. Cassiel, discouraged that his Berlin constituents no longer believe in angels, but rather in tangible earthly things, wishes to live life as a mortal. He wants to experience the city and the world as a person, rather than in his present omniscient condition. He gets his wish and the film is all down hill from there. Wenders dosen't insult the audience with the usual obligatory scenes where someone goes through a transformation in the "Vice Versa" crappy switcharoo mold. Instead, Cassiel's experiences as a mortal are entirely one-sided and provide no fabric for his original intention. Life on earth is shitty, he knew that to begin with, and as a mortal discovers it as well as rediscovering his capacity as an angel for goodness, but in the most mundane ways. The characters which were intriguing when being observed by Cassiel are largely empty when he finally does meet them. By the end it has all degenerated into an imitation Joel Silver production with Bruce Willis titled "Striking Force" or "Killer Instinct." No, Cassiel dosen't precede or follow a shooting of the greasy bad guys with a one-liner about his good pals Smith and Wesson, but the plot does eventually fall into a race against time to save lives from crooks in which the omniscient qualities of the angels switch from a thick-layered metaphor to a cheap plot device. Wenders may simply be too ambitious in -his moralizing. His characters eventually are discovered to have interwoven lives and he attempts to use them to comment simultaneously on the poor conditions of their lives and the city in a way only Robert Altman can do. Unlike Altman, Wenders spreads himself too thin and loses sight of his original vision. The ambition of Cassiel and the philosophy of the angels is not challenged when Cassiel becomes a mortal. There is no real consequence to his action and so to tie it all together all Wenders can do is end with the angels restating that which they had already known before Cassiel's experiment. Unfortunately, this also reminds the audience what the film could have been. FARA WA Y, SO CLOSE! is playing at the Ann Arbor 1&2 Soft Boys Soft Boys 1976-1981 Rykodisc Should there ever be a movement in music away from what is now called grunge and toward a more Beatles- influenced, psychedelic pop approach, the SoftBoys will certainly be credited for being far ahead of their time. Born in England in the middle of the punk revolution of 1976, the band, like Big Star in the early '70s, was striving for a sound far different from its peers and consequently found an equally small audience. Those who heard, however, obeyed the call; Peter Buck of R.E.M. has often remarked that his group was more influenced by the Soft Boys than the Byrds. A recent 2-CD collection of the Soft Boys' work, entitled "Soft Boys 1976-1981," offers the chance to take another much-deserved look at that band's unique vision. The sound was pure, yet ragged, focused yet manic and always on the verge of veering out of control. It was ultra-catchy pop twisted exactly 17 degrees left of center by the pen of lyricist and band-leader Robyn Hitchcock. What resulted was a small number of brilliant albums populated by prawns, bugs, reptiles and yodelling Hoovers. The chord progressions and harmonies of "He's a Reptile," may be straight from tho 1950s, but this is far from "Earth Angel." "The Soft Boys 1976-1981" offers a great deal of unreleased material along with album tracks from the band's three releases. The novice receives an excellent introduction to the band through the inclusion of classics such as "Queen of Eyes," "I Wanna Destroy You" aad "Leppo and the Jooves," while even the already-converted will want the many early demos and live cuts, including versions of "Heartbreak Hotel" and "The Book of Love." The Soft Boys were unjustly ignored during their time together and should not be allowed to continue suffering the same fate. As Hitchcock sings, "Have a heart, Betty, I'm not fireproof." - Dirk Schulze 0 0 RUSTBELT Continued from page 5 to promote all of the talented artists that they discover, financial considerations often pressure them into being a bit more selective. "You have to budget it out in a way that's feasible," MacDonald explained. "You want to have the money to actually push each band in the proper way." "We mail out singles and CDs to radio stations across the country. Big Eercise Room 'Study Lounge "7.VLoung Computer 1Room "£aundry ~acities 24 hourAttened'Lodby #qaw Room ?feat and 'Water includd CHECK OUT OUR LOWIlLowlito {'I MAY7MAY. RATES i Newsletters, Newsletters Newsletters Newsletters Big savings on newsletters for all clubs, businesses, and organizations. Block has gotten extensive radio play out west, so the bands are definitely making strides," McGuire added."I'd say that college radio is the champion of the whole thing. It's people that are so far into music that they seek you out. They want to find something new and cool as far as underground music." According to Rustbelt's founders, the ultimate goal is, of course, "world domination," but barring that, they would like to be thought of as a major partof the music scene in the Midwest. "We've noticed that small independent labels don't aim at (becoming) national labels, MacDonald observed. "I think they limit themselves to being so underground." "Over the next year, we want to build (Rustbelt) into a national record label," he continued. "I think the Midwest needs another working label." Hopefully, Rustbelt will succeed in giving Detroit and all of its diverse local talent the recognitionit deserves. This city has certainly waited long enough. RUSTBELT RECORDS' NIGHT featuring Walk On Water, Crossed Wire, Big Block and Forehead Stew happens at the Shelter tomorrow night. Tickets are a mere $5, doors open at 8 p.m., 18 and over. Call 961-MELTfor more information. University Towrs Apartmfent 536 S. Forest Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 761-2680 t't ' °- { 7 ? , ... > k ' t i. _ c a 1 A: « ! 6 .:..::'.. :::i~: :i}r:.::.......... :{h ...s .. . ........ t 0 y £yt" . : , MS .; p, t Il ............................... . .................. ................ .................................... t":. t " See< a hand -on display bf Appie creativity do ur peers frluding: , + s. -" . .. -" ' F.I -. :, Blue Skies Bol Shop UMTRI :Driving Simulator Newton ER Assistan ................... ................... .................... ................... ................... ................... .................. ................. .................. ................. ................. ...................................................... .::: s: I x s. 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