Being a fan of director Werner Herzog, I’ve always been meaning to watch The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser (1974; Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle; Every Man for Himself and God Against All) as one of his acclaimed works from the 1970s New Wave of German Cinema. I always assumed it would be arduous or difficult to watch, in the way that some of Herzog’s best (and my favourite of his) movies can be. But I was surprised to find that it was quite engaging and entertaining, and a satirical, philosophical experience, particularly from Bruno S’s presence and performance in the title role (the first of the two movies Herzog would make with him, the other being Stroszek). Based on a historical figure from 19th century Germany, Kaspar Hauser was a young man who appeared in a German town with a note in hand, explaining that he had been raised in a cellar for all of his life, a foundling who had no real experience of the world, where even walking had to be explained to him. Herzog doesn’t care about the claims that Hauser was a fraud, clearly in the casting of Bruno S, a forty-year-old man in a part historically supposed to be seventeen years old. Herzog’s interest is in how this misfit is socialised, and the ways in which he is taught, which at first provide him utility and meaning, but then usher in a stubborn resistance to more conceptual systems like religion and class hierarchies. Bruno S is such a compelling presence (not just because he resembles 1970s-era Neil Young) but in how he listens and responds to everything around him, and when he speaks, he transmits a curious and frustrated air to all his questions and observations. There are moments of beautiful imagery, existential stories and humourous moments, particularly against the citizens who hold Hauser in such judgement (Clemens Scheitz, the old man from Stroszek, is quite funny as a note-taking clerk). Available to stream on Stan. This was a strange, curious, artistic experience in the best way that a Werner Herzog movie could be. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 