Review of Fata Morgana (1972) by Kevin N — 19 Jul 2014

Like many Herzog films, FATA MORGANA is beautiful in its simplicity, and is both under- and overambitious, making for an interesting experiment along the lines of some of his other work. Herzog conceived this as a science-fiction movie, but as he delved into it realized that the reality he was capturing was stranger than any story he could concoct.

In the landscapes of North Africa, he attempts (and succeeds) to film a mirage. But in doing so he also captures the essence of a planet in mortality, and explores the birth, life and death of this rock we call Earth and the effect humans have had on it throughout the years.

The film starts gracefully, sweeping over miles and miles of elegant nature to the soft folk tunes of Leonard Cohen as well as a voice over that recites Guatemalan creation myths, but it gets heavy-handed in its final act as Herzog inserts almost Tati-level modernistic satire to his once organic study.