I was fascinated by this film by Werner Herzog. That's because about a year ago I traveled to the Caribbean island of Guadaloupe and took an excursion to see the volcano. Well, the excursion sucked. It was so cloudy, you couldn't see the volcano! So, at least by watching the documentary I was FINALLY able to see that beautiful but deadly site.
This film was not just about seeing the volcano which seemed ready to erupt. This could have been done quickly and the film could have ended almost as soon as it started. Instead, Herzog travels across the island and waxes very poetic about life on the island after almost everyone evacuated. You see animals such as pigs, donkeys and dogs walking about the barren streets as well as a closeup of a dead dog (yuck!). And, he locates a few odd-balls who are determined to remain behind--and live or die if it's God's will. In between, you see a lot of nice film of the island. I particularly liked the aerial shots of the mountains and wish I'd seen the island this way! All in all, an interesting film (especially for me) that proves that Werner Herzog is crazy! After all, a volcano was supposed to be erupting any day! However, in light of his willingness to travel to insanely difficult locales for his films (such as the Amazon jungle, Antarctica, caves and the like), this short didn't come as a surprise to me, as I'm very acquainted with his film and admire his determination. Which, it turns out, continues just as strong today as it did back in 1977.
By the way, fortunately for Herzog and the few stragglers, the volcano inexplicably did NOT explode but eventually diminished strength and the disaster was averted. Herzog appeared to sound quite apologetic for this at the end of the film!!
This film was not just about seeing the volcano which seemed ready to erupt. This could have been done quickly and the film could have ended almost as soon as it started. Instead, Herzog travels across the island and waxes very poetic about life on the island after almost everyone evacuated. You see animals such as pigs, donkeys and dogs walking about the barren streets as well as a closeup of a dead dog (yuck!). And, he locates a few odd-balls who are determined to remain behind--and live or die if it's God's will. In between, you see a lot of nice film of the island. I particularly liked the aerial shots of the mountains and wish I'd seen the island this way! All in all, an interesting film (especially for me) that proves that Werner Herzog is crazy! After all, a volcano was supposed to be erupting any day! However, in light of his willingness to travel to insanely difficult locales for his films (such as the Amazon jungle, Antarctica, caves and the like), this short didn't come as a surprise to me, as I'm very acquainted with his film and admire his determination. Which, it turns out, continues just as strong today as it did back in 1977.
By the way, fortunately for Herzog and the few stragglers, the volcano inexplicably did NOT explode but eventually diminished strength and the disaster was averted. Herzog appeared to sound quite apologetic for this at the end of the film!!