Saturday, August 16, 2008
STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was Werner Herzog's
This is about three misfits from Germany who decide to immigrate to the US and, guess what? They are misfits there too. Or here.
This film is super eccentric and, hence, its fascination.
Herzog uses all amateur actors and places them in settings where they can pretty much act out.
It is hard going.
I stayed through the whole thing. It is like watching a freak show that fascinates even though you don't want to watch.
The proceedings seem almost documentary.
Not surprisingly the woman who was a whore in Germany is a whore in the US. The retard is still a retard. And the old man who got them into this is still in his dotage. No fountain of youth here.
The rural scenes are in Wisconsin but seem very familiar to me. Like down home where I came from. Rednecks and trailer trash are pretty much the same in Pennsylvania.
Maybe that is why I sat through it for so long.
I ate the whole thing. But I didn't like it much.
That will make it a 2 out of Netflix5. Well, maybe a 3. I can't decide how much I liked it, actually. It was so fucking weird.
Labels: best films
