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Land of Silence and Darkness: From the Life of Deaf-Blind Fini Straubinger (1971)
Tuesday, June 16, 6-9 p.m.
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
“Viva la Werner! The cataract of Herzogiana was born with the release of this hypnotic 1971 film — his first feature-length documentary — about Bavaria's blind-deaf community and, in particular, Fini Straubinger, a tough, philosophical old woman whose self-appointed role is to breach her fellow isolates' inner world. Herzog's lifelong fascination with alternative languages and states of conscious experience takes root with his subjects' alphabet code, strummed out in conversations we can't hear on each others' palms like silent Bach arpeggios. (Watch the hand of the "listener" fold into an embrace when the message is understood halfway through.) Through their presence, Herzog makes even hothouse cacti and park trees seem unearthly. It's one of the most powerful of Herzog's many bottomless mysteries — we watch but we cannot see in.” -Michael Atkinson, Village Voice.
85 minutes. Unrated. |
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Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
Tuesday, June 23, 6-9 p.m.
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
“If ever there were a tailor-made subject for a Werner Herzog documentary, it is the harrowing story of Dieter Dengler, who grew up in Germany in the postwar years, became a U.S. Navy pilot and, in 1966, was shot down and captured by the Pathet Lao. He was imprisoned, tortured and escaped in a bloody shootout to face a horrendous ordeal in the jungle. In Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Herzog brings Dengler — now retired and living in Mill Valley — back to Southeast Asia to re-create his experiences, and it's an extraordinary story. Herzog has likened Dengler's experience to a Greek tragedy, involving dreams, punishment and redemption.” -Walter Addiego, San Francisco Examiner.
80 minutes. Unrated.
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Wheel of Time (2004)
Tuesday, June 30, 6-9 p.m.
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
“Werner Herzog's Dalai Lama doc has a lyrical beauty comparable to his Lessons of Darkness. Humbled by his subject, though not over-reverential to it, Herzog narrates some passages and lets other long stretches speak for themselves, whether it's pilgrims making hundred-mile journeys by prostrating themselves at each step, or a near-riot that breaks out as Tibetan monks throw lucky dumplings to a crowd. Wheel of Time doesn't treat Tibetan Buddhism as a spiritual accessory, but allows a much fuller picture of Tibetan life to shine through.” -Sam Adams, citypaper.net.
80 minutes. Unrated.
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Grizzly Man (2007)
Tuesday, July 7, 6-9 p.m.
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
“For those who don't know who Timothy Treadwell is, let me provide an overview. Treadwell was an environmentalist who gained notoriety in the 1990s and early 2000s when his passion for grizzly bears led him to spend 13 consecutive summers (1991 through 2003) on the Alaskan peninsula living amongst them. During his last five years, Treadwell brought a video camera with him to capture images of the bears and himself in their territory. In October 2003, Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were killed by a grizzly. Their remains were discovered the next day and the bear was shot. Left behind by Treadwell was about 100 hours of footage that Herzog has sifted through to produce this fascinating motion picture.” -James Berardinelli, reelviews.net.
103 minutes. Rated R.
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Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
Tuesday, July 14, 6-9 p.m.
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
“Herzog's method makes Encounters at the End of the World seem like it is happening by chance, although chance has nothing to do with it. He narrates as if we're watching movies of his last vacation — informal, conversational, engaging. He talks about people he met, sights he saw, thoughts he had. And then a larger picture grows inexorably into view. McMurdo is perched on the frontier of the coming suicide of the planet. Mankind has grown too fast, spent too freely, consumed too much, and the ice cap is melting, and we shall all perish. Herzog doesn't use such language, of course; he is too subtle and visionary. He is nudged toward his conclusions by what he sees. In a sense, his film journeys through time as well as space, and we see what little we may end up leaving behind us. Nor is he depressed by this prospect, but only philosophical. We came, we saw, we conquered, and we left behind a frozen fish.” -Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times.
99 minutes. Rated G.
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