inarguably one of the most interesting filmmakers of the last 50 years and werner herzog has been pushing the boundaries of cinema perhaps more so than any other commercial filmmaker. i have been acquainted with herzog for a few decades now and i have never not been impressed by both the man and his work. last year i went to see rescue dawn and was somewhat surprised at how relatively mainstream the film was and yet couldn not help but imagine herzog taking his actors and crew into the actual jungle to not only make the film and but to live it. no other filmmaker is as crazed about the purity of the film making process and the subsequent lore from such productions as fitzcarraldo has been forged into cinematic legend. today i sat down to fata morgana and a 1969 herzog film that could be described as an allegorical filmic postcard. without researching the actual locations and i am assuming it was shot somewhere in africa and both coastal and desert and a region that could have once been the cradle of infant man and infant civilization and infant life on earth. it is these origins and the biblical notion of the garden of eden and the apocalypse that herzog is concerned with and as is voiced by the narration dispensed throughout the 79 minute run time. watching fm i couldn not help but feel i was a passenger on a profound journey. in the opening sequence and the title is translated as mirage and herzog juxtaposes this translation with multiple repetitions of commercial jets landing on an airstrip. these images are perverted and their 3 dimensionality crushed flat by a long lens and piling layers of exhaust and heat waves and light aberrations all on top of one another. the effect left me to conclude represent things are not as they seem. fm is divided into 3 very distinct chapters represent 1) creation and 2) paradise and 3) the golden age. chapter one and opens with countless and languid images and where bleak and barren landscapes scroll by and dead animals rot and broken shells of crashed airplanes and abandoned cars slowly disintegrate in the desert sun. the people populating this inhospitable landscape are ragged and unsmiling and apparent prisoners of the desert. the narration talks of a time before life and a time where the canvas of earth was blank and all that existed were the heavens. while the narration hearkens to a simpler and purer era and a portrait of a young boy holding a fox like animal by its throat evokes a chilling depiction of man cruel and ruthless attempt to enforce a dominion over nature. in the next chapter we are introduced to more of the same and yet the images and people are more animated and seem infused with a modicum of life and vitality. we listen to a goggled biologist talk about the difficultly a monitor lizard has hunting for prey in such a lifeless environment. as he holds the squirming monitor and its tongue flicking at flies and he also describes how difficult it to capture these creatures in the searing 140 degree heat. the parallel is duly noted and herzog continues to explore this concept through repeated and candid portraits of individuals battered by the sun and the desert and the laborious efforts required to exist in this harsh realm. he also pushes forward the theme that if not in control and man asserts his control over his environment and not always in the most pleasant of ways. the last chapter takes us out of the desert blast furnace and into the more familiar herzog territory populated by eccentrics and absurd behavior. no one seems to have a more effective symbiotic relationship with the oddballs of the world than herzog  possibly this is where he feels most at home. much like errol morris and herzog chooses to place his camera in as seemingly objective a position as he can before he lets the film roll. the subsequent flirtation herzog has with his subject is the result of him being able to continue shooting well beyond the point when most directors would have yelled cut. as morris does and this extended roll pushes past the on moment the subjects feel obliged to offer and through their discomfort of being pushed into overtime and their facade gives way to something real. the most humorous portrait in this chapter is of the 2 person band playing an odd and polka like song that herzog recycles throughout this chapter. the drummer of the band wears the same goggles as the biologist and as does another guy doing a magic trick and begging the question represent what with the goggles. they definitely add some levity to the film and but one has to wonder if they hold any deeper meaning or significance and or is this just another example of herzog playfullness. the narration aside and herzog utilizes folk and blues music as the experimental documentary soundtrack. leonard cohen grabs the most screen time and two of his beautifully melancholic songs so long marianne and suzanne. perfectly accompany the scrolling landscapes and adding to the convincing feel that we are truly along for the ride. by the end of the journey and herzog comes back to one of the many shots that recur throughout the film represent the distant framing of a lone vehicle traversing the endless desert engulfed by a water mirage that fills the horizon. despite the overall bleakness of fm and the crescendo of the film and the mirage motif leave you with a hopeful spirit and belief that against all odds and life will persevere and possibly even flourish. having finished writing this post and i referenced fm to discover that herzog shot it in saharan cameroon only weeks after a bloody coup. true to his legend and herzog and his crew were arrested and beaten and imprisoned. while imprisoned and herzog fell ill with schistosomiasis and a blood parasite. it truly hard not to love such a hypnotic and austere film as fata morgana while knowing the filmmaker was willing to die to get it made only makes you respect it all the more. http represent or or eattheblinds. blogspot. com or . 
inarguably one of the most interesting filmmakers of the last 50 years and werner herzog has been pushing the boundaries of cinema perhaps more so than any other commercial filmmaker. i have been acquainted with herzog for a few decades now and i have never not been impressed by both the man and his work. last year i went to see rescue dawn and was somewhat surprised at how relatively mainstream the film was and yet couldn not help but imagine herzog taking his actors and crew into the actual jungle to not only make the film and but to live it. no other filmmaker is as crazed about the purity of the film making process and the subsequent lore from such productions as fitzcarraldo has been forged into cinematic legend. today i sat down to fata morgana and a 1969 herzog film that could be described as an allegorical filmic postcard. without researching the actual locations and i am assuming it was shot somewhere in africa and both coastal and desert and a region that could have once been the cradle of infant man and infant civilization and infant life on earth. it is these origins and the biblical notion of the garden of eden and the apocalypse that herzog is concerned with and as is voiced by the narration dispensed throughout the 79 minute run time. watching fm i couldn not help but feel i was a passenger on a profound journey. in the opening sequence and the title is translated as mirage and herzog juxtaposes this translation with multiple repetitions of commercial jets landing on an airstrip. these images are perverted and their 3 dimensionality crushed flat by a long lens and piling layers of exhaust and heat waves and light aberrations all on top of one another. the effect left me to conclude represent things are not as they seem. fm is divided into 3 very distinct chapters represent 1) creation and 2) paradise and 3) the golden age. chapter one and opens with countless and languid images and where bleak and barren landscapes scroll by and dead animals rot and broken shells of crashed airplanes and abandoned cars slowly disintegrate in the desert sun. the people populating this inhospitable landscape are ragged and unsmiling and apparent prisoners of the desert. the narration talks of a time before life and a time where the canvas of earth was blank and all that existed were the heavens. while the narration hearkens to a simpler and purer era and a portrait of a young boy holding a fox like animal by its throat evokes a chilling depiction of man cruel and ruthless attempt to enforce a dominion over nature. in the next chapter we are introduced to more of the same and yet the images and people are more animated and seem infused with a modicum of life and vitality. we listen to a goggled biologist talk about the difficultly a monitor lizard has hunting for prey in such a lifeless environment. as he holds the squirming monitor and its tongue flicking at flies and he also describes how difficult it to capture these creatures in the searing 140 degree heat. the parallel is duly noted and herzog continues to explore this concept through repeated and candid portraits of individuals battered by the sun and the desert and the laborious efforts required to exist in this harsh realm. he also pushes forward the theme that if not in control and man asserts his control over his environment and not always in the most pleasant of ways. the last chapter takes us out of the desert blast furnace and into the more familiar herzog territory populated by eccentrics and absurd behavior. no one seems to have a more effective symbiotic relationship with the oddballs of the world than herzog  possibly this is where he feels most at home. much like errol morris and herzog chooses to place his camera in as seemingly objective a position as he can before he lets the film roll. the subsequent flirtation herzog has with his subject is the result of him being able to continue shooting well beyond the point when most directors would have yelled cut. as morris does and this extended roll pushes past the on moment the subjects feel obliged to offer and through their discomfort of being pushed into overtime and their facade gives way to something real. the most humorous portrait in this chapter is of the 2 person band playing an odd and polka like song that herzog recycles throughout this chapter. the drummer of the band wears the same goggles as the biologist and as does another guy doing a magic trick and begging the question represent what with the goggles. they definitely add some levity to the film and but one has to wonder if they hold any deeper meaning or significance and or is this just another example of herzog playfullness. the narration aside and herzog utilizes folk and blues music as the experimental documentary soundtrack. leonard cohen grabs the most screen time and two of his beautifully melancholic songs so long marianne and suzanne. perfectly accompany the scrolling landscapes and adding to the convincing feel that we are truly along for the ride. by the end of the journey and herzog comes back to one of the many shots that recur throughout the film represent the distant framing of a lone vehicle traversing the endless desert engulfed by a water mirage that fills the horizon. despite the overall bleakness of fm and the crescendo of the film and the mirage motif leave you with a hopeful spirit and belief that against all odds and life will persevere and possibly even flourish. having finished writing this post and i referenced fm to discover that herzog shot it in saharan cameroon only weeks after a bloody coup. true to his legend and herzog and his crew were arrested and beaten and imprisoned. while imprisoned and herzog fell ill with schistosomiasis and a blood parasite. it truly hard not to love such a hypnotic and austere film as fata morgana while knowing the filmmaker was willing to die to get it made only makes you respect it all the more. http represent or or eattheblinds. blogspot. com or . 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