7th Chennai Film Festival 2019 : Werner Herzog Retrospective

7th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2109

6-10 Feb; Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai

Werner Herzog Retrospective

1) Land of Silence and Darkness  / Das Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit
Colour, 85 min., 1971

The Land of Silence and Darkness tells about the destiny of blind-deaf people, who – due to their lack of perceptive faculty – seem to be almost unable to interact with their surroundings in a creative way. The movie helps us to understand the dramatic situation of these people, who are locked in their darkness but still struggle to build up a connection between their existence and the outer world.

The documentary focusses on the daily life of blind-deaf 56-years-old Fini Straubinger but also covers the stories of other blind-deaf people that Fini gets to meet in an unpretentious, moving way.

2) Little Dieter Needs to Fly / Flucht aus Laos
Colour, 80 min., 1997

Driven by his wish to become a pilot in the U.S., 18-years-old Dieter Dengler leaves his hometown in the German Schwarzwald. After joining the Air Force, he starts a career as a fighter pilot at the US-Navy. When his airplane gets shot during a mission in the Vietnam War, Dengler is been held captive. Only under great difficulties he manages to escape to Thailand and back to his unit.

Werner Herzog meets the former fighter pilot in his new domicile in San Francisco. Together they visit his old home in the Schwarzwald and travel to Far East, where Herzog asks Dengler to reenact stations of his escape. A follow up tells about Dieter Dengler’s funeral on a soldier cemetery in Arlington in 2001.

3) God’s Angry Man / Glaube und Währung 

Colour, 44 min., 1980

God’s Angry Man (Literal translation of the German title: “Faith and Currency“) is a documentary about the U.S.-American television preacher Dr. Gene Scott. Almost every day Scott talks about his ideas of Christianity on T.V. In the first place they are about gaining enormous amounts of financial donations. Therefore – according to Scott – great income signifies a “religions” triumph.

Werner Herzog accompanies the controversial Dr. Scott who has been accused of tax evasion, fraudulent conversion, defamation and blackmailing several times. The director abstains from personal judgment on Scott: The statements of Scott and interviews with his family serve the viewer to form his or her own opinion.

4) Wheel of Time / Rad der Zeit
Colour, 80 min., 2002-03

Werner Herzog observes Buddhist ceremonies and rituals in three places: At Bodh Gaya (India), Mount Kailash (Tibet) and Graz (Austria) and specifically focusses on the Kalachakra-Initiation, held by the Dalai Lama. The documentary shows the first film record of secret Buddhist rituals ever and covers footage of a pilgrimage to Holy Mount Kailash in Tibet as well as exclusive interviews with the Dalai Lama.

5) The Wild Blue Yonder
Colour, 81 min., 2005

An alien reports about his escape from a solidified planet in a far galaxy. He tells about his attempts to settle on earth and finally discloses his secret knowledge on how to travel in the opposite direction. Seeking for new living space five astronauts travel to space and explore the abandoned planet, the “wild blue yonder”. When they return home after 820 years they find the world being deserted.