Fata Morgana - 1971

I first came to Werner Herzog through Aguirre The Wrath of God and his remake of Nosferatu. Both are exceptionally brilliant pieces of cinema. Then a few years ago I saw Grizzly Man - one of the best documentaries of recent years, followed by Rescue Down, the Christian Bale starring story of s fighter pilots struggle to escape a prisoner of war camp in in Laos during Vietnam. So when I sat down to watch Fata Morgana I had expected something intense, visually brilliant and with an unrelenting style. Well, all of these things are present and correct in Fata Morgana, but it was still nowhere near what I had expected.

The film begins with a shot of a plane coming into land. The sounds reaches a high pitched screech before we see the event again, and again, and again and on and on it goes for a good few minutes. The film then consists of a series of mirage shots of deserts, accompanied by a voiceover quoting the Mayan creation myth. The film is broken down into three chapters; Creation, Paradise, The Golden Age. It takes on the form of an epic filmic poem, the images juxtaposed against the voiceover. As we reach the Paradise and Golden Age sections Herzog introduces man into the film, and we begin to see how, in this place, they interact with nature and the world around them. In this way Herzog's film sits comfortably alongside his other films which explore his big theme; man's interaction with nature, a theme explored in most of his documentaries.


The film's images stand as an ironic counterpoint to the descriptions from the Mayan creation myth around the idea of paradise, and especially the golden age. In the early mirage scenes we see the remnants of mankind; fragments of a plane etc. Later we begin to see civilistion in this desolute place, and finally we are shown a number of direct to camera interactions from people who discuss the nature of this desert.

What emerges as the film progresses is Herzog's unrelenting pursuit of the truth of man's place in the world. As with other documentaries, Herzog's obsession with experiencing these environments and exploring their effect the man forces its way to the fore. Fata Morgana is as much a film about the images and words as it about the man who wanted to make the film. This gives us a fascinating insight into the mind of the director.

Although not at all what I was expecting, I found the film strangely hypnotic, lulling me into a state where I was drawn to the images. The film resounds with a haunting quality and once again Herzog exposes our place in a desolute world ill suited the man.