Classic Flicks: Herzog's Stroszek intriguing; moving

By Joseph Allencherril     11/4/10 7:00pm

If you have never heard of German film director Werner Herzog, one of the early proponents of the New German Cinema movement of the '60s, '70s and '80s, I envy you - you are in for the movie-going experience of a lifetime. Many directors dilute their otherwise magnificent oeuvres by producing mediocre films in their later years. Herzog is the exception: a director who has yet to take a misstep in his work and continues to produce great films. In Stroszek, Bruno Stroszek (credited as Bruno S.), a recently released convict, his prostitute girlfriend Eva (Eva Mattes) and their senior neighbor Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz) leave their home in Germany for 1970s rural Wisconsin in search of a better life. Herzog builds up and tears down the American dream in Stroszek; Stroszek's hopes crumble before him as he slowly learns the harsh laws of life.

In this way, Stroszek is at once heartbreaking and comic, though the humor in Stroszek's pathetic situation may be difficult to notice at times. The ending is a shot of a dancing chicken (don't worry; that wasn't a spoiler), which is one of the strangest and most memorable in all of cinema. In fact, Herzog had to shoot the scene himself since his crew members were not sensitive enough to understand the scene's significance in the context of the film.

Though Herzog usually spends no more than a few days or weeks writing the screenplay for his movies - Stroszek was written in a mere four days - his films often turn out feeling larger-than-life, with his material springing forth as much from his real life as from the well of his imagination. According to Herzog, "Film is not analysis, it is the agitation of mind; cinema comes from the country fair and the circus, not from art and academicism." Stroszek seems to be as much about the actor Bruno S. as it is about the character Stroszek. In real life, Bruno S. was institutionalized for 23 years, beginning at the age of three. Regrettably, Bruno S. died this past August at the age of 78.

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Herzog is widely known for directing Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), a story of a Spanish soldier's (Klaus Kinski) search for the mythical city of gold, El Dorado. For some viewers, it may very well be a more accessible entry point into the work of Herzog than Stroszek. I would especially like to recommend Aguirre, not just for its effective story and influential documentary cinematography (Aguirre was Francis Ford Coppola's primary cinematic inspiration for Apocalypse Now) but also for Kinski's performance. Herzog himself said, "There has never been a man in cinema who had such a presence, such a ferocious intensity on the screen." Despite this instance of praise, Herzog and Kinski's love-hate relationship has been much written and much talked about in film circles for years.

Whether or not Stroszek is love at first viewing, there is quite literally a film for everyone in Herzog's vast body of work. Herzog has many identities as a filmmaker: Herzog the documentarian, Herzog the opera director, Herzog the actor. He is the epitome of self-reliance. Herzog does not let wind, rain or sleet compromise his cinematic vision. He has produced thoughtful documentaries on various subjects (like Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) and Grizzly Man (2005)), and dark, independent thrillers (Invincible (2001) and Rescue Dawn (2007)). His other notable films include Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970), The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974), Heart of Glass (1976), Woyzeck (1979) and Fitzcarraldo (1982). Herzog, at 68, has not begun to lose his steam and is currently working on a documentary on French cave paintings.

Joseph Allencherril is a Will Rice College sophomore. Classic Flicks is a column rediscovering the best films that cinema has to offer.

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