Did I learn anything from having watched Herzog’s filmography over the past six months? 

I had to load up at the end of this month, luckily over these holidays I had a few extra days off work to finish this journey. 

As an artist myself, it feels nourishing to immerse in the works of an accomplished and internationally beloved artist like Herzog. I got to wax philosophical over Herzog’s fanatical repetition of philosophical themes, images, and music. I delighted in his absurdist works, such as Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and Protection Against Fanatics.

I lacked some brain and time capacity to deeply explore all the roads one could take with Herzog. I didn’t write all the essays I wanted to, like about my double feature of Little Dieter Needs to Fly + Rescue Dawn, or a deep dive into the pathetic archetype and very German play Woyzeck, adapted into a super fascinating role for Klaus Kinski. I think I would like to leave that door open, perhaps for collaboration with another Herzog fan. I barely “publicized” this project, but my hope is: if this website lives on the internet, perhaps some fan will come across it and be inspired to watch a lesser known Herzog film just for fun, or for deeper study, or existential exploration. (When starting this, I was actually shocked at the lack of websites devoted to one of our planets greatest living artists.)

The whole project gave me some nodes of connection to my emotional world. When my mother died in 2021, I experienced this giant rush of trying to understand the enormity of what I witnessed. Herzog’s films gave me some deep meditative yet detached way to think upon these larger themes of existence without having to immerse myself purely in grief and sorrow after the death of my mother.

I also realized I had started this project on my partner’s birthday, Bastille Day. During 2022, we adapted our relationship for a primarily long-distance dynamic. My partner is one of the most driven and seriously purposeful people I know, and he has always been my hero. On one hand, this project was like some sort of stand-in for adapting to a much greater amount of time spent alone. So, spending time with Herzog replaced the time I would have spent with my boyfriend. Ha!!

The Herzogian hero has an inner, singular drive. I think of my partner. I think of my Mother, who during her life was my greatest love but in witnessing how she lived her life at the end, and in her death showed her true self, her incredible courage and sheer physical will that made her my hero, made me in awe of her. Herzog’s heroes awe-inspiring in they are deeply devoted to and fully immersed in their subjects, but have a type of humor and lightness amidst their devotion. A euphoria and ecstasy in the pursuit of their truest Truth. I think of Timothy Treadwell of Grizzly Man, but also the bell ringer in Bells From the Deep, and of Bruce Chatwin.

Herzog always finds the incredible people a part or adjacent to these projects that are enormous in scope and importance. Like Mark Anthony in the White Diamond, or all the eccentric scientists in Encounters at the End of the World and Cave of Forgotten Dreams. 

While I feel like this phase of the project is capped off neatly, having watched everything available for streaming, I’ll likely procure the three feature films not available on streaming platforms and post about those later this year. Now, I do not feel I’m in a rush – it will be a joy to savor some more Herzog moments! My invitation, for whoever reads this: inbox me or comment, and perhaps we can enjoy these rarer Herzog films together in a watch party. 2023 goals!

Unwatched films:

• Scream of Stone

• The Transformation of the World Into Music

• Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices

• Handicapped Future

Mr. Herzog, if you ever come across this: what a gift to receive all you have done for humanity. By making so much of your work accessible on the internet, you have opened portals as mysterious as cenotes for individuals to explore enigmas, to wonder. To think upon expanding our biggest universes and going even deeper into the most intimate parts of our souls. Through your art, we get to time travel, and we get the chance to experience these collective human experiences in modernity, perhaps one step at a time we get closer to our ancestors. Your body of work is transfixing and transformational. Thank you.

I have no idea who to credit this original photo to, but I snagged it off the amazing Twitter account @ParodyWerner