Ken B
Did everyone completely really miss the main thrust of this film? The terrible generational curse of the House of Atreus portrayed in the Greek tragedy of the Oresteia trilogy! They only rehearse portions of it over and over and over for us... Mix that with his Peruvian experience, what ever it was, and his bible visions. Yes, it does't quite match the horror of the Greek matricide of the original, but don't criticize if you're not going to at least consider those many references to the Greek tragedy. Perhaps a more powerful evocation of the impact of Greek tragedy to a modern audience is "A Dream of Passion" with Ellen Burstyn and Melina Mercouri. In Athens, an American woman (Burstyn) murders her 3 children because her husband is having an affair. A Greek actress (Mercouri) is producing Euripides' "Medea" (who murders her children) for the BBC. The plot is involved, but the film ends with a scene of the play's production at the ancient theater at the site of the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. Acted entirely in Greek, the viewer nonetheless experiences some of the horror the original Greek audience would have.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
08/30/23
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Audience Member
A different take on a hostage situation, with the flashbacks just making Brad (Shannon) look even crazier. No real rhyme or reason to anything in the film, with it seeming to be weird for the sake of Herzog's whims - staring into the camera, frozen, for 30sec at a time, a score that doesn't fit, flamingos and ostriches... Also a waste of Dafoe's talents - felt long @ 87min.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
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Audience Member
The worst of geniouses Lynch and Herzog. Mental illness of boredom.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
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Audience Member
This rough picture flits from mockumentary to weirdness that borders on self-parody. The few glimpses of dark beauty couldn't save a rushed and mediocre thriller.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
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Audience Member
It does not really work, but I would take a flawed Herzog film over most good films. Michael Shannon is perfectly cast. I'm not sure if that is a good thing, but it is true.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
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Audience Member
This is the fifteenth movie I've seen by the incomparable Werner Herzog, who, based on his overall body of work, remains one of my top 5 favorite filmmakers. This movie, while embodying a number of typically Herzog elements, is probably the least effective work of his that I've seen. It's still got plenty of insanity going on, and it's more interesting than a lot of movies; but compared to Herzog's other works, it feels jumbled and doesn't have as strong a flow or thematic cohesion as one might hope. I would recommend it, but only to people who have already liked a bunch of Herzog's other films.
The story follows a disturbed man (Michael Shannon, who was excellent in the film Take Shelter and one of the only good things about Man of Steel) who lives with his overbearing mother and, one day, murders her with a sword. Most of the movie plays out as a hostage situation, with him inside his house hiding from the police, as his girlfriend (Chloe Sevigny) and drama teacher (Udo Kier) tell a detective (Willem Dafoe) stories about him, which we see in flashbacks.
Parts of the movie play like a remix of other elements from better Herzog movies. Insane protagonist? Check. Scenes shot in the Amazon jungle? Check. Lingering contemplative shots of animals? Check. There's a lot of Herzog-ian stuff here, but compared to his other films it largely feels tossed-off and/or inelegantly incorporated. The acting is agreeably strange, and there are a few long takes where I felt true brilliance shining through. On the whole, though, it's not one of Herzog's stronger films, and feels like an afterthought relative to, say, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. If you love Herzog already, go ahead; if you've never seen Herzog before, I've got 14 other movies I recommend first.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
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