Werner Herzog

[knives]

By contrast I absolutely loved the film. I was watching Jenkins' Monster and just couldn't stand being in that world for the length of the film, found out that Mubi is hosting this for the day for free and got exactly what I needed. It is one of the most good natured films I've ever seen full of love and warmth. The film is a lot like Inception in the sense that just because something is a fiction doesn't make the feelings any less good. None of the drama we see is real, but it feels real and my love of these characters is real and the happiness they cause me is real. That's the beginning of a long hole to jump into and I don't want to get into religion right now because I am so content with the world at the moment. I just want to replay that hedgehog scene forever. I could see criticisms of the film for its aesthetic quality, though, like Wenders' digital experiments which this shares a lot in common with, I think that misses the point of having such a lo-fi quality. Likewise I could see criticisms placed against this in comparison to Alps and especially Like Someone in Love, but that would seem to ignore the intended gentleness of the film which is as seasonal and ethereal as the cherry blossoms which the movie fetishes. Herzog's best fiction in who knows

[therewillbeblus]

There is definitely some "gentleness" and transcendental emotionality at play, but it all felt secondary to Herzog's intellectual fetishism. Not that that's a bad thing, nor that this film must be measured against those other different films to credit its worth. I just think this basic idea has been done already giving more attention to other domains and, in my perspective, revealed this film to be a lot thinner than I probably would have seen it as without a subjective point of comparison. There is definitely merit in Herzog's process in allowing for a naturalness of narrative, and pronouncing energy between two characters that captures otherwise ephemeral experiences, but those ideas that were unique to this movie just felt underwhelming to me in execution.

[knives]

I'm not sure if I fully disagree. I was just in the emotional place for it to work it's fullest on me and my subjective experience had to the film's emotional character take priority.

[dda1996a]

Have yet to watch the Herzog, but I found Alps to be ridiculously empty and it flatlines almost from the start, so I'm surprised to see it held up as any bar of excellency (I do like his three non-greek films, have yet to see Kinetta & Dogtooth).
If anything, I think early Egoyan sort of did this thing in a brilliant fashion, if you ask me.

[therewillbeblus]

Alps is not an easy film to like and in many ways I think it’s his least accessible film, as I tried to express in my linked post. You’re in the majority on this one, sadly

[L.A.]

80 years old today.

[DarkImbecile]

Big celebration for him in Telluride at the theater named in his honor; everyone’s carrying around little cutouts of his face on sticks

[domino harvey]

Herzog will direct Kate and Rooney Mara in Bucking Fastard