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Heart of Glass -
Moody, deliberate, odd and always fascinating, this movie contemplates our planet's cycle of decline, doom and rebirth in the most Werner Herzog of ways: by observing the decline of a tiny Bavarian town as its vital glassblowing industry fails. Its top seller is its beautiful, red-hued "ruby glass," and much to their detriment, its inventor passed away without leaving instructions on how to make it. Meanwhile, on the town's outskirts, seer Hias (Josef Bierbichler) prophesizes about what this means in a way resembling Herzog's legendary narration.
I should have known better, but after reading the plot summary, I went in thinking I was in for a mystery or crime thriller. I not only didn't get that, but I also got something with a minimal plot and a conclusion I would never have predicted. I was still as rapt as Hias is while he stares at the vast Bavarian horizon. The town's despair radiates from every frame in obvious ways like Hias's doomsaying as well as in the peculiar yet appropriate vacancy in everyone else's performances. My favorite example of this, which is also the funniest, is in the lack of response from two old friends and barflies as they threaten each other, pour beer on each other and smash glasses in their faces in ways that must have inspired Bill Plympton's Push Comes to Shove. Herzog apparently hypnotized all the performers besides Bierbichler before filming and it shows. A much less humorous example of the town's decline is in its increasingly hopeless search for the secret of the glass. From Aguirre, the Wrath of God to Stroszek to this movie, Herzog has proven to be an expert at descents into insanity, so if you've already guessed that the secret becomes a metaphor for the residents' sense of purpose, you would be right. Another very Herzog quality I appreciate is that the location is hardly confined to Bavaria. From Yellowstone to the Skellig Islands, we observe degradation like erosion and toxic bodies of water that provide a stark macro companion to the much smaller instance of this cycle, which also has the added benefit of being accompanied by the music of Popol Vuh.
Again, this movie is deliberate, perhaps one of the most deliberate ones I've ever seen. Besides Herzog's habit of not only making scenes last longer than expected, but also not always making it clear what you should be looking at, the vacant performances - as appropriate as their vacancy may be - sometimes tested my patience. In other words, this may not be the best movie to start watching late at night and/or if you're tired, which I learned the hard way. I still think it's one of the best and strangest Herzog movies I've seen, which is saying a lot since I've seen sixteen of them now. For better or worse, Hias's pronouncements of humanity's demise resonate now as much as they likely did with '70s audiences. Despite how provocative they are, and the believability of the small town's descent, Herzog and company deserve credit for making me believe we should still climb the wall even if it will inevitably tip over and crush us all.
Moody, deliberate, odd and always fascinating, this movie contemplates our planet's cycle of decline, doom and rebirth in the most Werner Herzog of ways: by observing the decline of a tiny Bavarian town as its vital glassblowing industry fails. Its top seller is its beautiful, red-hued "ruby glass," and much to their detriment, its inventor passed away without leaving instructions on how to make it. Meanwhile, on the town's outskirts, seer Hias (Josef Bierbichler) prophesizes about what this means in a way resembling Herzog's legendary narration.
I should have known better, but after reading the plot summary, I went in thinking I was in for a mystery or crime thriller. I not only didn't get that, but I also got something with a minimal plot and a conclusion I would never have predicted. I was still as rapt as Hias is while he stares at the vast Bavarian horizon. The town's despair radiates from every frame in obvious ways like Hias's doomsaying as well as in the peculiar yet appropriate vacancy in everyone else's performances. My favorite example of this, which is also the funniest, is in the lack of response from two old friends and barflies as they threaten each other, pour beer on each other and smash glasses in their faces in ways that must have inspired Bill Plympton's Push Comes to Shove. Herzog apparently hypnotized all the performers besides Bierbichler before filming and it shows. A much less humorous example of the town's decline is in its increasingly hopeless search for the secret of the glass. From Aguirre, the Wrath of God to Stroszek to this movie, Herzog has proven to be an expert at descents into insanity, so if you've already guessed that the secret becomes a metaphor for the residents' sense of purpose, you would be right. Another very Herzog quality I appreciate is that the location is hardly confined to Bavaria. From Yellowstone to the Skellig Islands, we observe degradation like erosion and toxic bodies of water that provide a stark macro companion to the much smaller instance of this cycle, which also has the added benefit of being accompanied by the music of Popol Vuh.
Again, this movie is deliberate, perhaps one of the most deliberate ones I've ever seen. Besides Herzog's habit of not only making scenes last longer than expected, but also not always making it clear what you should be looking at, the vacant performances - as appropriate as their vacancy may be - sometimes tested my patience. In other words, this may not be the best movie to start watching late at night and/or if you're tired, which I learned the hard way. I still think it's one of the best and strangest Herzog movies I've seen, which is saying a lot since I've seen sixteen of them now. For better or worse, Hias's pronouncements of humanity's demise resonate now as much as they likely did with '70s audiences. Despite how provocative they are, and the believability of the small town's descent, Herzog and company deserve credit for making me believe we should still climb the wall even if it will inevitably tip over and crush us all.