A documentary about deaf-blind Fini Strauberger. She fell down stairs aged 9, went blind at 15, and deaf at 18. She stayed in bed for 30 years. “I fled to religion. It gave me strength. But this terrible loneliness stayed on“. So where do we go from here? But be mildly depressed for the next [...]
I suppose it made sense to make an odd special needs person (Bruno S) play a very odd special needs person (Kaspar Hauser) Bruno S would be giving the role an air of naive gullibility, a natural “oddness”; the alienation would be authentic, the estrangement under-performed and not overly acted. But the problem is Bruno S can’t [...]
The legend is that Herzog had the non-professional cast of 35 put into a trance during the film, repeating lines they had learnt under hypnosis. There’s certainly alot of glassy eyed staring going on, people sat oddly catatonic. “Madness is rampant in the village” says herdsman Hias. And he should know. It appears he has [...]
What makes a “gute mensch”? Not Klaus Kinski. He’s qualifies as the original mad mensch No 1. In this film he plays simpleton soldier “Woyzeck” going crazeee with insane jealousy that his young wife is messing about with an officer. And he’s also the subject of some kind of scientific research project being conducted by [...]
A documentary by Werner Herzog about Timothy Treadwell, a wild-life bear enthusiast and self-claimed “kind warrior”. Treadwell lived with wild grizzlies up in Alaska for 13 summers. He claimed to be protecting them. He got up close and personal, gave them cute names like “Mr Chocolate” and “Sergeant Brown“. He also befriended wild foxes; he [...]
Ten minutes in and i knew i wouldn’t be enjoying or even liking this film. No narrative arc (as the film critics like to say) to it. Incomprehensible mostly. Unintelligible manic distracting discomforting energy to it. That’s the delusional reality schizophrenics live in is saying Harmony Korine. I’m getting you right into this donkey boys [...]
One of those Werner Herzog films i saw back in my early 20′s. Oddly compelling at the time. Not now though. Odd yes, but not especially compelling. Bruno S – who plays Stroszek - is odd bordering on idiot; he declaims his lines in a faux oratory style as if he’s acting being an actor [...]
