Werner Herzog on stage at the Viennale 2022. Mod: Neil Young.
THEATER OF THOUGHT
Werner Herzog takes us on a journey to the mind. It’s not any specific brain he is interested in but the mind per se. The film mainly consists of intriguing interviews with leading scholars and workers in such fields as neuroscience and artificial intelligence. What easily could become a rather dry survey solely suited to experts transforms into a beautiful and mind-boggling approach to the depth of human existence and the capabilities of scientific research. Are we living in a fantasy? Will we be able to speak to birds?
The director once more shows his outstanding way of simultaneously asking and wondering. Herzog is probably the only director working today who will drown out the voice of a protagonist in order to declare in voiceover that he doesn’t understand a thing being said but still finds it fascinating. He freely associates while always caring for the human behind the idea, the fear behind the progress, the poetry behind the science. His film intelligently explores the borders between science and fiction, declaring science to be on its way to fiction and vice versa. Without ignoring ethical dilemmas, it’s a rare work that presents a possible hope for the future. (Patrick Holzapfel)