Review of "Walking to Werner"
WALKING TO WERNER (2006)
Directed by Linas Phillips
Written by Linas Phillips
Starring Linas Phillips
This documentary film is an astonishing gem. In 1974 the film director Werner Herzog heard that his good friend Lotte Eisner was dying in Paris. Herzog decided to travel from Munich to Paris on foot, coming to believe that while he kept walking Eisner would not die, and she was alive when Herzog arrived. In 2005, film-maker Linas Phillips, a huge Herzog fan, decides to walk from his home in Seattle to Herzog’s home in Los Angeles (a distance of 1200 miles). A couple of days into his journey Phillips receives word that Herzog is actually shooting a film in Thailand, and will not be in the States if and when Phillips arrives. Phillips continues with his journey though, which becomes more of a personal and spiritual quest, especially in his sometimes comic, sometimes moving, and occasionally frightening encounters while on the road.
Phillips, a young man with long blond hair, who at times bears a more than passing resemblance to Herzog’s collaborator/nemesis actor Klaus Kinski, makes an amiable and likeable guide. Herzog appears in extracts from DVD commentaries for his films and in archive interviews. This is an astonishing film, as much about dreams and spirituality as about someone trying to find a film-maker. In his obsession and determination, Phillips could be the subject of one of Herzog’s own documentaries (in particular the scene where he ends up accepting a car ride, and then retraces his steps in the dark to where the car picked him up all the time railing against his fate and ranting against the cars constantly passing him: “Vacuuming up the soul!”). The film itself is sometimes hilarious, sometimes moving and often inspiring. It is always entertaining though. This is the best documentary film I’ve seen in a long time. See it if you get the chance.
Ten out of ten.
Directed by Linas Phillips
Written by Linas Phillips
Starring Linas Phillips
This documentary film is an astonishing gem. In 1974 the film director Werner Herzog heard that his good friend Lotte Eisner was dying in Paris. Herzog decided to travel from Munich to Paris on foot, coming to believe that while he kept walking Eisner would not die, and she was alive when Herzog arrived. In 2005, film-maker Linas Phillips, a huge Herzog fan, decides to walk from his home in Seattle to Herzog’s home in Los Angeles (a distance of 1200 miles). A couple of days into his journey Phillips receives word that Herzog is actually shooting a film in Thailand, and will not be in the States if and when Phillips arrives. Phillips continues with his journey though, which becomes more of a personal and spiritual quest, especially in his sometimes comic, sometimes moving, and occasionally frightening encounters while on the road.
Phillips, a young man with long blond hair, who at times bears a more than passing resemblance to Herzog’s collaborator/nemesis actor Klaus Kinski, makes an amiable and likeable guide. Herzog appears in extracts from DVD commentaries for his films and in archive interviews. This is an astonishing film, as much about dreams and spirituality as about someone trying to find a film-maker. In his obsession and determination, Phillips could be the subject of one of Herzog’s own documentaries (in particular the scene where he ends up accepting a car ride, and then retraces his steps in the dark to where the car picked him up all the time railing against his fate and ranting against the cars constantly passing him: “Vacuuming up the soul!”). The film itself is sometimes hilarious, sometimes moving and often inspiring. It is always entertaining though. This is the best documentary film I’ve seen in a long time. See it if you get the chance.
Ten out of ten.