#16 We just watched this on Netflix streaming.You should too!:Burden of Dreams

The Film: Burden of Dreams

The film is a simple documentary about the production of Fitzcarraldo and it’s legendary director, Werner Herzog. Despite its simplicity, it manages to capture, most likely, the most chaotic production shoot of all time. Yes, you could argue that Apocalypse Now was bad as well, but never has such catastrophic events plagued a film production.

The film Fitzcarraldo is, in terms of great movies, a relatively small achievement. It is not a great movie. However, what makes the documentary better than the original film is the obvious parallels of madness one can draw between the main character and Herzog himself.

Why to watch it: The man, the myth, the legend: Werner Herzog

I came to Herzog very late. I saw his movies Grizzly Man and Aguirre:Wrath of God only days apart and was shocked, only momentarily, they were made by the same man. Herzog has now become a hero of mine despite the fact I’ve only seen a dozen of his movies and enjoyed ever fewer.

He is a hero because he is the ultimate filmmaker. Fearless, courageous, adventurous, and, most of all, totally uncompromising. I read a fantastic quote from Ramin Bahrani, director of Goodbye Solo, where Herzog told Bahrani that if he (Herzog) knew, with certainty, the world was going to end tomorrow, he would start a film. It is that type of intoxicating spirit that has made Herzog so inspirational to so many.

Pay attention to this: Herzog’s madness

Herzog remains relatively calm throughout the movie, however, we start to see the dam break as the documentary progresses. Such an example is how he insisted on pulling the steamboat up the hill despite the chance of death and injury. Even the engineer who created the steamboat pulley system quit, fearing responsibility for death or injury. His abuses are, in my opinion, evil. Where these actions fall on your morality scale are up to you.

What is odd is footage of Kinski loosing his mind his not included. Only in a documentary many years later did the following footage surface:

Get Netflix streaming and follow along. Have fun out there!

-Collin