German new-Romantic Werner Herzog reprises his role as myth-maker meets truth-teller in 2007’s “Encounters at the End of the World.” Inspired by a series of photographs Herzog saw on someone’s desk while in post production for 2005’s “Grizzly Man,” the filmmaker received a grant from the National Science Institute to travel to Antarctica. Along with long-time cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger, the crew of two traveled to the bottom of the earth in an attempt to find the ecstatic truth behind man’s eternal wandering, his quasi-futile scientific probing, and whether or not a penguin can go insane.
Created by only two men in a mostly improvisio fashion, “Encounters” plays like a gentle version of a Herzog zombie film, should such a beast ever arise. It follows the filmmaker in his travels to and around the frozen continent as he meets all kinds of world travelers who, having lost the will to go on in a flawed civilization, turned to the empty tundra.
A mechanic proves that he is descended from Incan royalty from his peculiarly shaped thumbs. A fork-lift driver with five Ph.D.’s recites age-old philosophical arguments. A group of scientists plays a rock show on the roof of their lab to celebrate finding three new strains of aquatic life that day. Herzog circles about McMurdo station filming encounters with such characters, who have made a life for themselves in the chilly shadow of society.
Herzog also devotes some time to the more desolate parts of the continent, presenting a beautifully frozen portrait of nature at its most stunning. Whether searching out frozen tunnels running deep into the world or watching a lost penguin destined to die alone in the tundra, Herzog contemplates these events with the aesthetic eye of a photographer and the probing mind of a dreamer. In true Herzog style, the film is a carefully-fashioned rendition of events, both objective and created by the filmmaker, that is meant to create a more significant sensation in the viewer’s experience than simple cinema verité could ever perhaps aspire to.
Produced for the Discovery Channel, “Encounters” is one of Herzog’s most easily palatable films. While the filmmaker may lose some of the vicious heart found in earlier works such as “Aguirre:The Wrath of God” or “Fitzcarraldo,” “Encounters” is no less a film, even by Herzog standards. Stunning photography accompanied by poignant words spoken in Herzog’s soothing voice, the film is perhaps not for everyone, but, overall, this is a stunning piece of filmmaking that shows what two men can do with a strange world in front of them. As it has yet to be released, don’t look for this one at Destinta, but make a note somewhere to check out the latest from one of the world’s most gifted filmmakers.
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