NOMAD: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE CHATWIN

 

     In this poetic documentary, quintessential documentarian Werner Herzog retraces the steps of a nomadic traveler, Bruce Chatwin, whose endless quest for every kind of strangeness in the world he could find took him to all ends of the earth.  

     Chatwin was a British travel writer, novelist, and journalist who, by way of the short-list for the Man Booker Prize for Utz, Sotheby’s in London, a stint at the University of Edinburgh, and the Sunday Times Magazine, decided to visit Patagonia in Argentina as inspiration for his first book, In Patagonia.  This fascinated Werner Herzog because of his similar interests.

     Herzog and Chatwin had crossed paths from time to time, meeting in person in 1983 in Melbourne.  In making this documentary, Herzog relates some of his films to Chatwin’s wanderings.  He takes us on some of those journies, accompanied by haunting strains of music (Ernst Reijseger) and the arresting cinematography of Louis Caulfield and Mike Paterson.  

     It starts out with a piece of fur that Chatwin saw in his grandmother’s Victorian cabinet, which was said to be of a Brontosaurus, but actually turned out to be from a giant sloth.  This piece of fur, along with other items of interest, particularly prehistoric animals, captivated the young Chatwin, and he spent the rest of his life chasing its origins.

     Herzog pulls in Chatwin’s wife, Elizabeth; his biographer, Nicholas Shakespeare; and numerous scientists, acquaintances, musicians, writers, and Australian tribesmen to elaborate on their perspectives of what Chatwin wrote and experienced. Much is made of Chatwin’s book, The Songlines, which became a best seller in the United States and United Kingdom.

            This is a moving film about the intense connection between two very different men around their love of adventure and curiosity about the world.  For anyone who has even the faintest of desires for such travel, this will be inspiring, informative, and satisfying as second best to being there, especially for those of us unable/unwilling to undergo the rigor it would require. The promises of adventure, the exotic places shown, and the quirkiness of Chatwin (and Herzog, to some extent) will keep you entranced.

 

“The world reveals itself to those who travel on foot”  Werner Herzog

 

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

QUEEN OF THE DESERT

Nicole Kidman   James Franco   Damian Lewis   Robert Pattinson

     Celebrated filmmaker Werner Herzog takes us on a journey with Gertrude Bell, a remarkable British woman who in the early part of the 20th Century took it upon herself to explore the Middle East on her own with a small staff.  She was a writer, archeologist, explorer, mapmaker, and political advisor to the British Empire, wielding considerable influence on how boundaries were drawn in the area following WWI.  She developed a keen interest in the Bedouin tribes of Saudi Arabia, fearlessly walking into their settlements and requesting meetings with the reigning sheiks, which was apparently always granted.  Many of these men believed that she had a better understanding of them than anyone else in the West. 

     Educated at Oxford, Bell (beautifully played by Nicole Kidman) was very intelligent, but unlike most women in that age, was determined to navigate her own life as she pleased.  She single-mindedly pursued her goals, bristling at any male attempts to rein her in.  She could easily be an inspiration to women everywhere even today. 

     It appears that Herzog as writer and director of the film needed to add very little to the script that was not based on facts gathered from Bell’s books and personal correspondence.  Her written observations of the people she met, her photography, and her varied experiences provide rich information for the screenwriter and cinematographer.  Herzog has used Cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger for many of his movies, and the man has once again proved his worth with photography that is eloquent in its palette and the camera’s curious eye in navigating the terrain outdoors in the desert, within the tribal settlements, and in the cultured drawing rooms of British aristocracy.

     I found this to be a fascinating journey, particularly in light of current conditions in the Middle East and certainly in presenting the rare woman who could navigate her way in some of the most masculine-dominant situations.  Was she just lucky?  I think not.  There were far too many risky encounters for it to be that; she was canny, honest, forthright, and a skilled negotiator in getting what she wanted, while still maintaining respect for whoever was on the other side of the negotiation.

     Kidman seems just right for the role, and her playful flirtations with Henry (Franco), a character patterned after someone else Bell was involved with, add a little fun and romance to the story.  Bell’s later involvement with British officer Wylie (Lewis) doesn’t have the same chemistry, but is still entertaining.  Her interactions with archeologist T. E. Lawrence (Pattinson) capture well their mutual cynicism about British government decisions.

     Queen of the Desert presents a necessarily abbreviated but empathic account of a phenomenal woman in the beginning of the 20^th Century who forged a path that is unique for women. Going where few or no others had dared to tread, Gertrude Bell came to know herself and what was important to her in her isolated travels in the Arabian Desert, which might seem secondary to the valuable connections she was making and information she was gathering about a mysterious culture.  In the history of women, however, it is groundbreaking.

     It could be criticized for skimping on the political information and negotiations Bell conducted, but I think that is in favor of the cinematic photographic sweep and focusing on Bell’s personality.  It’s classic Werner Herzog.

A delight to see a woman of action being so successful.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD

Lawrence Krauss     Kevin Mitnik     Elon Musk     Sebastian Thrun     Lusianna Walkowicz

           Ah…Werner Herzog is one of my favorite filmmakers.  Take this film, for instance, in which he mixes up technical jargon, scientific wonder, and humanitarian reflections while slyly slipping in bits of humor, such as—well, I won’t give it away, but when you hear an Elvis Presley song, you’ll likely agree with me.  Lo and Behold is chock full of fascinating information, such as ‘Lo’ being the first message transmitted over the Internet (the machine crashed before ‘login’ could be completed).  Leave it to Herzog to think of “Lo and Behold.”  ‘Reveries’ is likewise a good choice, because the film is a thoughtful meditation that includes some of the history of computers and the Internet, the astonishing accomplishments with them, and musings/predictions about the future.  Herzog asks provocative questions of the scientists he interviews that prompts scratching of the head as well as chuckles. 

         The film is divided into ten segments that start with “The Early Days” (and we get to see the first computer that was used in developing the Internet) and ends up with “The Future”, in which the brain will be capable of remote sensing and transmitting information through non-physical channels to points outside itself).  In-between, we hear about the glories of the internet, the dark side of it, life without the internet, the possible end of it, hacking as an advanced threat, people as being the source of threats to security, the extension of the internet to outer space, artificial intelligence, and the interface of humans with their computers and the internet. 

        Problems or possible problems are brought to our attention, such as internet addictions, hypersensitivity to radio waves and our electronic devices creating an illness, sun flares that are potentially disastrous, how humans would have a hard time existing without the internet (say, if sun flares wiped it out), and cyber warfare.

         Ways that technology is altering humanity is shown, i.e., already, physical and digital life may be blurred, and currently, students are often not encouraged to do deep critical thinking.  If machines eventually are able to do most jobs, and individual preferences are instantly gratified (sounds, lighting, temperature) whenever we enter a room, for instance, who will we be?  Of course, the ultimate question is, “What makes humans human?” 

A provocative film for contemporary times in the age of the computer and the Internet.

Grade:  A                     By Donna R. Copeland