Wodaabe - Die Hirten der Sonne. Nomaden am Südrand der Sahara

Herzog with his usual interesting subject that just needs to be filmed and with the uneasy feeling that he is directing everyone's actions--- This is a good one to find if you are a Herzog fan--- stands tall to any of his best documentaries--- I felt that i was seeing something that could vanish in the near future--- one of Herzog's ideas about being 'outside' civilization to where nature is more powerful than man--- in this case i remember watching the film at a friend's place in Queens and felt that the whole movie was an good analogy to the dating scene in N.Y.C--- or in western culture--- where the 'image' of a person was a very important thing and somehow this film was about revealing how that isn't necessarily a superficial thing---

Actually as a documentary of the Wodaabe, this television film leaves much to be desired. There is a brief discussion of the enlarging Sahara and the problem of lack of rain. However this is undercut by actually filming just after one of the rare periods when it did rain. There is also a brief segment on the shanty town next to the uranium mines. Then these are dropped. The major interest is the male beauty competition. The faces of the contestants are scanned as an introduction, and most of the second half of the film is about the competition. This aspect is certainly interesting, and the young men's makeup and clothing is in dramatic contrast to construction of masculinity in the dominant global culture. We think of such makeup and restrictive clothing as feminine. Their appearance is somewhat like drag in Europe/North America, but then yet again is quite different. When the selected young woman walks past the finalists, she does not look them in the face - she appears to be looking mainly at the ground. This aspect of Wodaabe femininity should be explained and contrasted to other male-female interactions.

Do they use mirrors to apply their makeup. None are seen, but some of the young men are holding their hands as if they have a mirror, but this is not confirmed by the camera.

Amazingly, there are no tourists at the festival. Only the German camera crew. We are not shown how the Wodaabe relate to being filmed by these foreigners.

As this film was made for French television, and the opening titles and commentary and the closing credits are in French, should not the French title be the prime one?

Werner Herzog's films are nothing if not a celebration of humanity in all its complexity. Many, whether fiction or non-fiction, also provide hard analysis in one fashion or another, or underhanded commentary. 'Herdsmen of the sun' is one of the filmmaker's most straightforward projects, as it is nothing more than an audiovisual record of a particular slice of the great diversity of culture around the world. This is, however, all that it needs to be. Interviews conducted through an interpreter provide some insight on the subjects' thoughts and feelings, more personal context for the ceremonies depicted herein, and background on the struggles of the Wodaabe. Herzog's own narration serenely informs of the meaning of the imagery we see before us, and one can only be awe-struck by how customs vary across the globe. Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein's cinematography, meanwhile, lovingly soaks in every detail that Herzog deems fit to present to us as a concise glimpse at this remote people, and Maximiliane Mainka's mindful editing shapes the picture into an easily digestible form. I can appreciate how documentaries don't appeal to all viewers, and some are easier to engage with than others. For those eager to learn, though, 'Herdsmen of the sun' is simply splendid.

Though surely only a small taste, the movie serves up a vibrant, flavorful portrait of the Wodaabe. We see their pastoral lifestyle, and the difficulty in maintaining it in light of shifting climates, government involvement, and the impact of the latter on the former. We see their marvelous, eye-catching clothes and makeup, especially those relative to the social rituals that lie at the heart of Herzog's picture. And for as outwardly different and subjectively strange as Wodaabe culture appears - just as with the people showcased in any of the filmmaker's productions, what becomes evident with the presentation is that all of humanity shares much in common with one another across time and space than it does not. Parallels can be drawn between any two societies, no matter how far-flung. And especially with that in mind, no matter how you look at it, 'Herdsmen of the sun' is wonderfully interesting, and altogether fascinating. Clocking in at a trim 50 minutes, this is worth more than the time it takes to watch.

Herzog's documentary of the Wodaabe people of the Sahara/Sahel region. Particular attention is given to the tribe's spectacular courtship rituals and 'beauty pageants', where eligible young men strive to outshine each other and attract mates by means of lavish makeup, posturing and facial movements.

They are traditionally nomadic cattle-herders and traders in the Sahel, with migrations stretching from southern Niger, through northern Nigeria, northeastern Cameroon, southwestern Chad, and the western region of the Central African Republic. Today (2016) they are estimated to number around 100,000.

I have to thank Herzog for this document. I am not sure if I had heard of the Wodaabe before, but they are a fascinating people, mixing African traditions with Islamic culture, and certainly a variety of their own practices. The makeup and other modifications almost make them look fake, like china dolls or some such thing. Why they consider themselves such beautiful people is easy to see.

The same people were the subject of the 1981 documentary "Deep Hearts" by American anthropologist and filmmaker Robert Gardner. His film focused almost exclusively on their mating ritual and consisted of long segments of men doing their makeup and dancing with extremely sparse commentary. It had no subtitles and no soundtrack except for the natural chanting and dancing of the tribe.

In comparison, this documentary by Werner Herzog is more about the overall lifestyle of the people. It subtitles their language and individuals are questioned on screen by the translator. The soundtrack uses opera music in some places.

In my opinion, neither film is great. "Herdsmen of the Sun" is probably more interesting and better filmed and edited than "Deep Hearts", while the latter is probably more authentic.