Review of Stroszek (1977) by Kevin H — 16 Jun 2008
Hmm...three German non-actors portray immigrants trying to subsist in the Wisconsin farm-town where Ed Gein grew up. Riiiight. Werner Herzog is one fucked-up cookie. Reportedly, he and Errol Morris were going to dig up the graves of Gein's victims, but Morris never showed (pussy).
Non-actors play essentially themselves in this story of a street musician, a prostitute, and a tiny androgynous old man. They start the story suffering miserably in Germany and then proceed to suffer miserably in the States.
Bruno S. is the lead actor, an intelligent but psychologically damaged accordionist. His "performance" works so well precisely because he's a non-actor. The people in this film are as ugly, commonplace, and broken as real people can be.
Most poignant is the naivete of the three principle characters. They believe that their problems will disappear once they move to America. But fortunately, Herzog doesn't go the route of juvenile cynicism, unlike Lars von Trier.
Herzog highlights negative attributes of American society, but it's to the end of presenting contrasts against the ills of German society (i.e. same shit, different smell). And even more important, Herzog is more interested in getting at the loneliness of his characters than in making an overt political statement.
The political undertones arise out of the people, not the other way around. And the last five minutes are oddly poetic and confounding. It's a conclusion that's hard to shake off, both because of its visceral impact and its inexhaustible possibilities for interpretation.
This review of Stroszek (1977) was written by Kevin H on 16 Jun 2008.
Stroszek has generally received very positive reviews.
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