Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog has a new film, 'Grizzly Man', playing soon at the Grand. What follows is some recent research I did on Herzog, by watching the 2004 film he stars in, called 'Incident at Loch Ness.'
Spoiler Warning: Most of this text is a spoiler, so if you have not seen the film and plan to, wait to read this another time.
What seems to be a Herzog film, actually is not. He is the star of the film, but does not direct it. We are led to believe from the beginning that a documentary on Werner Herzog is being shot while he is shooting a documentary film about the myth of the Loch Ness monster, called 'The Enigma of Loch Ness.' What we are actually watching is called 'The Incident at Loch Ness,' so this implies that something went wrong, that there was an incident.
Many things seem to be, and are not. Here is an excerpt from the dvd extras, which is a kind of summary of Herzog, and how the filmmakers of Loch Ness play on his reputation. It is in script form:
HERZOG
You would not believe me. If I told you the tale of what
actually occurred on the Loch, you would scoff and call
me a madman. I, myself, am not quite sure what was real.
I simply know that I am alive.
Even in the dvd commentary, the ruse is kept up, that Zak Penn and Werner made a film, and that much of the actual footage we are seeing is from the ‘documentary’ made by John Bailey.
If all this seems confusing so far, it is simply a reflection of the nature of this film, and apparently the nature of anything Herzog is connected to. I was surprised that he was not the director, because it feels so much like one of his films, like a stunt he would put on. It’s very ‘Herzogian,' as is suggested by Zak early on in the film.
What is especially noteworthy about this film, is how well we are tricked. Herzog immediately addresses how he has a reputation of being reckless, dangerous, and perhaps even unbelievable. By putting this up front, he gains our trust by then saying how ‘Nessie’ is just a myth, and that he is searching for the psychological reasons why people need to believe in such things. He comes across as a kind of voice of reason. This would be our first mistake as an audience. Werner Herzog is not the voice of reason. He is indeed, or at least he plays, the part of the madman, and this is so much his style, to let the madness sneak in past the mask of reason. We never know with him, whether to be laughing at him, or along with him… or is he laughing at us?
Many things in the film are hilarious: Herzog at the drugstore buying razor blades; the playboy model playing the sonar expert; the problems with the boat; the expedition jumpsuits with the misspelling on the back reading ‘EXPEDITITION’; the mistrust of the crew for Zak. What I found funniest was the point when I realized I had been duped. It made me mad at first, and then I had to burst out laughing, at myself, for going along so far into the film before I realized what was going on.
For all of these reasons, I believe seeing 'Incident at Loch Ness' is a kind of required viewing before seeing 'Grizzly Man.' A way of sharpening the senses, preparing for the Herzogian madness which is sure to come.
Spoiler Warning: Most of this text is a spoiler, so if you have not seen the film and plan to, wait to read this another time.
What seems to be a Herzog film, actually is not. He is the star of the film, but does not direct it. We are led to believe from the beginning that a documentary on Werner Herzog is being shot while he is shooting a documentary film about the myth of the Loch Ness monster, called 'The Enigma of Loch Ness.' What we are actually watching is called 'The Incident at Loch Ness,' so this implies that something went wrong, that there was an incident.
Many things seem to be, and are not. Here is an excerpt from the dvd extras, which is a kind of summary of Herzog, and how the filmmakers of Loch Ness play on his reputation. It is in script form:
HERZOG
You would not believe me. If I told you the tale of what
actually occurred on the Loch, you would scoff and call
me a madman. I, myself, am not quite sure what was real.
I simply know that I am alive.
Even in the dvd commentary, the ruse is kept up, that Zak Penn and Werner made a film, and that much of the actual footage we are seeing is from the ‘documentary’ made by John Bailey.
If all this seems confusing so far, it is simply a reflection of the nature of this film, and apparently the nature of anything Herzog is connected to. I was surprised that he was not the director, because it feels so much like one of his films, like a stunt he would put on. It’s very ‘Herzogian,' as is suggested by Zak early on in the film.
What is especially noteworthy about this film, is how well we are tricked. Herzog immediately addresses how he has a reputation of being reckless, dangerous, and perhaps even unbelievable. By putting this up front, he gains our trust by then saying how ‘Nessie’ is just a myth, and that he is searching for the psychological reasons why people need to believe in such things. He comes across as a kind of voice of reason. This would be our first mistake as an audience. Werner Herzog is not the voice of reason. He is indeed, or at least he plays, the part of the madman, and this is so much his style, to let the madness sneak in past the mask of reason. We never know with him, whether to be laughing at him, or along with him… or is he laughing at us?
Many things in the film are hilarious: Herzog at the drugstore buying razor blades; the playboy model playing the sonar expert; the problems with the boat; the expedition jumpsuits with the misspelling on the back reading ‘EXPEDITITION’; the mistrust of the crew for Zak. What I found funniest was the point when I realized I had been duped. It made me mad at first, and then I had to burst out laughing, at myself, for going along so far into the film before I realized what was going on.
For all of these reasons, I believe seeing 'Incident at Loch Ness' is a kind of required viewing before seeing 'Grizzly Man.' A way of sharpening the senses, preparing for the Herzogian madness which is sure to come.
