Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Herzog does Buddhism
I conclude that Werner Herzog can't make enough documentaries. His sonorous voiceover could give a certain gravitas to footage of a family picnic, or a trip to the bank or grocery store. the But Herzog's documentaries are filled with subjects and topics that are not so mundane and often exotic and extreme.
Wheel of Time follows three Buddhist pilgrimages in 2002. Central to the film is a Kalachakra Initiation in Bodh Gaya India, the location where the Buddha found enlightenment. This is also known as the Wheel of Time festival where monks create a highly intricate sand mandala that is wiped away at the end of the celebration. Herzog's cameras and narration observe the pilgrims, their teaching and prayers as well as the the creation of the mandala. It very much reminded me of Louis Malle's 1970s Phantom India.
The Bodh Gaya Kalachakra Initiation is cut short because of an illness of Dalai Lama's. The scene where he announces this mid-ceremony is highly dramatic, the intensity of his folowers palpable. The film then jumps to another Kalachakra Initiation some months later held in Ganz, Austria. This also diversifies the view of who the followers of Buddhism are.
There is also a delightful interview with Dalai Lama and Werner Herzog. If I had a a party where I could invite anyone living, I think the two of those folks would definitley be on the guest list.
Why isn't there an equivalent phrase to "man of letters" to filmmakers whose vision and work stretches between fiction, non-fiction and maybe everything in between?(commercials, short personal films, music videos) "Man of film" just doesn't seem right. A new coinage is needed, I believe. How about "total cinemest?" Regardless, there should be a way to identify folks like Herzog, Wim Wenders, and Martin Scorsese whose contribution to film consist of far more than storied dramas.
posted by well-executed buffet at 10:18 AM
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