Two Minutes with Werner Herzog
A memorable creative encounter on Independence Day.
“Chance is the lifeblood of cinema.” — Werner Herzog
It never ceases to amaze me how much of life is foreshadowed. Perhaps that’s why for so long we humans have attributed things to Fate and predestination and the “will of the Gods.”
I’m thinking specifically of the 4th of July in 2006 during my Insomniac Period when I was cranking out a nonfiction book every two years and five hours of sleep seemed like a blessing. Invariably I wound up reading half the night in the tub or watching something in the wee hours hoping for an extra 30 minutes of R.E.M.
Enter “Grizzly Man.” I was in the sunken living room of our West County home watching this masterpiece of documentary film making as Timothy Treadwell tries for more than a decade of summers to assimilate himself within an Alaskan brown bear clan and ultimately lures his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, into his grisly exercise. Narrated with Herzog’s unmistakably accented stream of consciousness, this is a tale of brilliance and delusion, perfectly in the wheelhouse of the filmmaker who so seamlessly travels the lines between civilization and madness, dream and insanity. In the end “Grizzly Man” is a film about a clash of world views. Is the natural order of wildness beautifully harmonious or chaotic and ruthless?
The tragic and terrifying finale of this movie—Herzog listening to the couple’s last moments through headphones and reacting to it—was still fresh in my mind when we arrived in Bolinas for a 4th of July celebration. This spot was uniquely spectacular. To the east was the backdrop of the lagoon and the forest studded mass of Mt. Tamalpais. The party was held in a private garden rimmed by a towering cypress hedge and a picnic table to seat 60 people. The town is renowned for its 4th of July shindigs where a rope is stretched across the lagoon and the rival communities of Stinson Beach and Bolinas wage a tug of war to pull the other side into the spit where the Pacific Ocean meets the tidewaters. There’s also a parade with off the charts humor and creativity enjoining the town’s culture clash of tech titans and hippie holdouts.
But on this sunny afternoon there were a lot of people hovering around the TV because Italy was playing Germany in the World Cup semi-final. And who do you think was in the small crowd of viewers but Werner Herzog himself brought there as a guest by a friend from Italy. Come on, what were the chances?
As I am normally unafraid to approach strangers or experts, I summoned the courage to talk with him. After all, I had just finished watching his film six hours earlier. This was destiny! Unfortunately it became immediately clear he was not in a chatty mood. Italy scored two goals in late overtime for the victory and we know what true fandom is like and how devastating it must be for your team to come that close to the World Cup final. (Actually, we American mens soccer fans don’t exactly know that feeling yet, do we?)
Still I dove right in and told him I had literally just seen his amazing film and how much I admired it and then came out with my one question I’d been cooking up for an hour or so. “I have to ask, how did it feel to make a film about a person who was such an asshole to his girlfriend?”
“Vell, I don’t think I vood have vanted to be his friend,” Herzog answered frankly.
If my memory serves me correctly, which it may not, he explained that he had been offered first rights to Treadwell’s footage and what he saw was so extraordinary he could not turn down the opportunity. He had a very short amount of time to decide whether or not to take the project and obviously made an excellent choice. Today “Grizzly Man” is considered by many to be one of the best documentaries of the century.
What is the point here? You never know what chance encounter might be coming your way. Buck up, be respectful and don’t be afraid to introduce yourself when the unexpected falls into your lap. Happy Independence Day.
All for now.
While you’re at it please listen, subscribe and review Full Expression where conversation happens in the realm of creative cultural ecology. For the 4th of July maybe start with Angelo Garro, craftsman extraordinaire or Erwin Chemerinski, Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law on the US Constitution.
Loved this recounting of a moment in time when fate creates a thrill in life. Werner it seems enjoys the north coast environs during the 4th of July holiday. Some years back, prior to COVID, he attended a 4th of July party at friends' wine country home in the Dry Creek Valley outside Healdsburg. I had recently watched on of my favorite of his documentary films, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly." It is a fascinating biographical piece about the fighter pilot Dieter Dengler, who was shot down in Vietnam and suffered as a prisoner of war before escaping. Herzog later made the story of that episode in Dengler's life into the excellent feature film Rescue Dawn staring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn. At the party, I had the opportunity to sit with Werner and his photographer wife, Lena over the meal. I acted as your fine piece recommends, without fear, in situating myself directly across from him at the table. We talked of Dengler and a few of his newer films. He was opinionated, but engaging and luckily not preoccupied with a soccer match. It was exciting to see the man is in real life just as he appears in his many films.