Here is part 2 of my write up on the Herzog films I saw at Film Forum last week. For more info, part one is available here.

Pilgrimage (2001) – 35mm
An artistic, more experimental look at the way different cultures pray to god.

Jag Mandir (1991)
Jag Mandir is the documentation of a parade/festival put on in India as a way to document their dying culture. The film was less a documentary and more of just a way to capture this amazing festival.

Echoes from a Somber Empire (1990)
This was probably the film I liked the most of the 14 I saw. The movie follows a journalist who was held captive by Jean-Bédel Bokassa in the Central African Republic. Bokassa 13 years as leader of the CAR were extremely bloody. He cut the ears of thieves, killed and imprisoned many people for no reason and actually ate the flesh of some of his victims. An amazing story and an amazing film.

Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun (1989)
This movie was about the Wodaabe tribe. From what I saw of it, it looked very intense. These people had amazing make up and looked completely out of control. They are a desert people and think everyone should be. Unfortunately, I got some important phone calls during the movie and I missed half of it to deal with some serious drama.

Huie’s Sermon (1980)
This film was just a document of a sermon given by one of the most intense men I have ever seen. He sung, danced, screamed and prayed to his congregation. He just walked around the room in a fury getting everyone excited and riled up under the love of god. Very powerful. He evoked a lot of James Brown. The money shot of the film is footage of a baptismal pool that pulls back to reveal that it is 50 feet in the air above the preacher. Amazing.

God’s Angry Man (1980)
Along with Somber Empire this was really the highlight of the films. It is a documentary about controversial televangelist Gene Scott. Originally the film looks to attack Scott, which would have been very out of character with a Herzog film, but eventually you really feel for Scott and are just really amazed by all the things he has accomplished. He really tells his side of the story in this movie. In many of Herzog’s documentaries he holds the camera just a bit too long on the subjects, creating small awkward moments of silence. This is turned on its head a bit in God’s Angry Man when Scott refuses to speak for a full five minutes. One of the best parts of the movie.

The Unprecedented Defense of Fortress Deutschkreuz (1966)
This is one of two fiction films in the retrospective. It is about four men who find an abandoned castle and start to believe that they are there to guard it. They dress up a as soldiers and try to defend the castle from invading farmers. Very strange, very pretty.

No One Will Play with Me (1976)
This was the other fictional film, although when dealing with 7 year old actors, there is sort of a blurred line. The touching story is about a small boy who is not accepted by his friends because he is poor and smells bad. He eventually befriends a girl who plays with him because he has a pet raven. He appreciates her friendship he gives her the raven, the only thing he has in life. The crowd applauded when it was over. Very moving.

The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1969)
A film about a group of doctors who fly all over East Africa performing medicine on sick people. They fly in, do surgeries for a few days and then fly back. There is so much sickness and fighting, it was amazing that these people could keep doing this day after day. Another Herzog film filled with amazing people.

Handicapped Future (1971)
This movie was about children dealing with handicaps in Germany. They interview children and their parents about the problems they face. One woman was extremely embarrassed of her child and basically hid him from the world. It was tragic. The film pointed to the United States as a place much more tolerant of the handicapped. It showed a man living an almost normal life in the United States. Although 35+ years later I still see so many problems for the disabled in our society, I just can’t imagine how bad things were in Germany in the early 70’s.

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