Lektionen in Finsternis

I'm not even going to try rating this Werner Herzog film. It isn't because it's bad--it's just that for the life of me, I have no idea how to score it--especially since it's unlike any other movie I have seen--and I've seen a lot! See it for yourself and I think you'll see what I mean.

This film was made around the end of the first Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq. Mostly, it consists of shots of the damage from the war on the landscape--particularly, but not exclusively, the oil wells deliberately destroyed by retreating Iraqi troops. I remember at the time, folks saying it would take DECADES to put out all the fires and clean up the mess. But, this was all crazy hyperbole and the cleanup was amazingly short--and so apparently Herzog and his crew had to rush there to document the hellish aftereffects of the war. Interestingly, the film is NOT about who was or wasn't at fault (though it did show the torture equipment used by the Iraqis)--more just an odd vision of the war's end. I say odd because the film was filled with unusual classical-style music, Herzog's strange narration and lacked the formal structure of a documentary. It's sort of a case where you just sit back and suck it all in--and it's not in any way like a typical Hollywood film! Well filmed but probably not everyone's cup of tea!

I was lucky enough to catch a one-off showing of this at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and it completely floored me. Although not for everyone (as with all Herzog films), he gives us a present day apocalyptic vision, infused with biblical and mythical power that ranks as highly as any of his feature film efforts. Herzog's lush visuals reach a new peak (in particular the aerial footage), as they are accompanied by incredibly fitting music and narration. This film is as close as cinema comes to painting. If you get a chance to see this, then do not hesitate. Prepare yourself for a rush.

Never call Werner Herzog a dilettante. When he sets out to make a film, he's willing to die for it. Although this film could have easily been adjusted to a pure documentary of the oil fires in Kuwait after the Iraq invasion, Herzog takes it to much higher levels. War. Apocalypse. Mythical Disaster. The End of Life as we knew it. THE Struggle (and, since this is made by a dark-visioned German, we do NOT win the struggle. At best, we earn a temporary truce with the Devil.) This is perhaps the MOST BEAUTIFULLY PHOTOGRAPHED COLOR film I've EVER seen. Bar none. The scoring, as usual, is unique and perfect. "Lessons of Darkness" is atypically vague for a film in my category "Life Changers", yet I am left extremely moved by the powerful effects of an exquisite visual and audio work of Art.

Werner Herzog narrates sparingly from an alien's perspective, but for the most part lets the images do the talking themselves. And yes, there are some pretty powerful images contained within this 50 minute documentary.

This is a pretty typical Herzog documentary, which if you aren't familiar with him, that means it's a pretty slow paced film. But the images are so great, if you let yourself get caught up in them, I don't see the slow pacing to be a problem. Herzog always says he's looking for "ecstatic truth" in his films. I think he achieved that with this one.

Lessons of Darkness (1992) looks and acts like a companion piece to Fata Morgana (1971). As with the earlier film, Lessons either captures viewers or leaves them confused and bored within the first few minutes. Early in Lessons we see an aerial shot of an unusual city. It is obviously a contemporary urban area because we see highways, traffic, stoplights, and large buildings, but it is also obvious that it is not an American city. The narrator (Herzog) announces that this city is about to be destroyed by war and the thought of this strange but vibrant place being destroyed becomes completely repugnant. Thus, Herzog succeeds here with the approach he initially planned and then abandoned in Fata Morgana. Lessons of Darkness triumphs as a mock Science Fiction story of an apocalypse that threatens all of civilization. Luckily, it doesn't take a college education to realize that the footage is shot in Iraq in the aftermath of the First Gulf War. Luckily as well, Herzog's anti-war statement does not need to be explicit to be effective. Early in the film, interviews with two Iraqi women suggest the human price of this military event. In the rest of the film, humans appear to be on the periphery of the "action" but they keep coming back to the center of our consciousness. Those who persist in their viewing will eventually encounter a chilling repetitiveness in this film (the fires are still burning!) However, that repetitiveness can become cumulative and mesmerizing. This is not a film experience for everyone, but for those who have a taste for it the film will be unforgettable.