ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Werner Herzog's Antarctica documentary Encounters at the End of the World currently rates an impressive 8.8 at IMDB, with an extended run at the Film Forum. Owen Gleiberman gave it an A at Entertainment Weekly. So really, is there anything I can add to the chorus of cheers for the film, which I also enjoyed?

Well, as a longtime admirer of Ross McElwee, I was struck by how similar Herzog's film is to McElwee's films. Mind you, I'm not criticizing Herzog or suggesting that the approaches are anything close to identical. (McElwee tends to be more of a presence in his movies.) I'm just noting that both Herzog and McElwee document their fascinating journeys and the unusual people they meet in the style of a wryly humorous memoir-film with extremely serious undertones. It's an appealing formula, pulled off very well by both directors.

Here's a trailer for Herzog's Encounters.



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And here's a selection from McElwee's Sherman's March. It isn't a perfect illustration of the point I'm making, but it's pretty interesting in its own right.



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FITZCARRALDO

The thoroughly absorbing Werner Herzog jungle epic Fitzcarraldo is playing at the IFC Center, perhaps only through Thursday.

Showing in a good-looking albeit uneven new 35mm print featuring some gorgeous cinematography, Fitzcarraldo follows the exploits of the titular opera fanatic (well-played by the otherwordly Klaus Kinski after Jason Robards became unavailable) as he desperately strives to bring an opera house to an outpost on the Amazon about a century ago. Like Herzog's Rescue Dawn, this is a movie about a fanatically obsessive modern man plunged into a raw environment, but whereas the protagonist of Rescue Dawn can find a path to freedom in the workings of a tiny lock, Kinski's Fitzcarraldo is macrocosmic, barely able to see trees for the forest. And forget about him considering topography when using a map. He is the type of opera fan who would surely have little or no patience for anything on the puny scale of chamber music—unless, perhaps, it involved a great such his idol Caruso. Fitzcarraldo's adventure involves some fascinating engineering work that arguably lends a new meaning to the cinematic term "tracking shot." See it.



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RESCUE DAWN

Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn dramatizes the true story of Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale), a United States pilot shot down over Laos in 1966. It's pretty much a genre film in the POW mode: Captured, the man suffers horrible deprivation and looks for a way to escape. What mainly sets this movie apart is its deft direction, its strong cast and cinematography, and Bale's portrayal of Dengler as a type of irrepressible oddball who sees opportunity where others see captivity.

The movie has gotten a pretty positive reception, but it has gotten some negative criticism too. Jerry DeBruin, brother of one of Dengler's fellow captives, argues that the film distorts reality in glorifying Dengler. The movie's treatment of Dengler can certainly come across as Hollywoody and even propagandistic to the detriment of others including the non-Americans, who are almost entirely portrayed as savages. On the other hand, I'd like to think that moviegoers who see how the captives are brutalized would leave with a better understanding of why the mistreatment of prisoners is so roundly condemned.

After seeing Rescue Dawn, I thought about how the Vietnam War has been portrayed in feature films and wondered if I would ever see a Battle of Algiers for that conflict, one that would add more breadth to the movie mosaic that now includes Rescue Dawn in addition to Platoon and Apocalypse Now. Or how about a saga about the fates of different families within Vietnam? (Hm. Suddenly I am reminded of Daughter from Danang.)



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WERNER AND LUCY AND DESI AND HOMER

This weekend the Film Forum kicks off its Werner Herzog non-fiction film festival. Want a recommendation? To be honest, I don't know where to start...except to mention that Herzog is scheduled to make personal appearances at a few screenings of the first films, which get glowing reviews on IMDB. (The most intriguing appearance isn't at the Film Forum, actually; it's at Goethe House on Saturday afternoon, when he'll screen footage from his forthcoming Antarctica flick--but it's sold out!) Otherwise, he's to be at Little Dieter Needs to Fly/Wings of Hope at 7 pm on Saturday, The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner/The Dark Glow of the Mountains/The White Diamond at 8:20 pm on Sunday, and "Werner's Picks" Sans Soleil/Les Maîtres Fous at 7 pm on Monday. Wanna go? Be aggressive--tickets seem to be going...going....

On Sunday at the Museum of the Moving Image there will be a free "street fair and celebration" called New York on Location. You'll be able to step inside 20 film trailers and trucks--and perhaps see what's behind the doors marked Lucy and Desi (as if you didn't know). Plus, you can get into the museum for free (and see Sam Fuller's newspaper movie Park Row) and get bargains at the gift shop, which is having a big sale.

And Sunday night is the 400th episode of The Simpsons. Amazing. (There will be two episodes that night, actually, as the 18th season of the series reaches its finale.)

BONUS I've been hearing and reading great things about the movie Once and the people who made it. Here's the trailer.



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