Les ailes de l'espoir

To understand the genius of Werner Herzog, one need look no further than this quirky documentary.

By sheer stroke of luck, I attended a talk by Beat Presser (a photographer collaborator of Herzog's in the seminal Fitzcarraldo). The talk was entitled, "Werner At Work", where we'd see Beat's exclusive footage of Herzog during his filming sessions of Cobra Verde, Invincible and yes, Wings of Hope.

During one presentation, we saw the footage Beat shot of Herzog filming the "Wings of hope" woman. She was seen wandering around the Zoology Museum where she worked. The woman merely she strolled along the shelves of animal specimens. She's also trying her earnest best to follow the subtle nudges from the man behind the camera. In Beat's footage, those shots were actually very matter of fact. Its just the woman, trailed by Herzog, a camera man and a sound guy. But Herzog's midas touch (read: embellishment) transformed those shot footage into a re-enactment of the woman's "dream sequence' in the final take of Wings of Hope. Wow. I couldn't stop laughing.

Herzog is such a zany genius. I love the guy. Love him!!!

Wings of Hope (2000)

**** (out of 4)

A rather amazing, harrowing and inspirational documentary from Werner Herzog about a 1971 plane crash in a South American jungle. A plane loaded with 92 passengers crashed in this jungle and only a seventeen-year-old woman survived. This woman, Juliane Koepcke, had to fight her way through the jungle before being found twelve days after the crash. Herzog takes this woman back to the scene of the crash and they hike through the jungle showing us the paths she took to live. This is a brilliant documentary that has a claustrophobic feel because it's simply amazing that this woman would survive the crash and it's even more amazing that she'd be able to find her way out of this jungle. Another curious note is that Herzog himself was getting ready to film Aguirre, the Wrath of God and was going to take this same flight but it was sold out. Seeing the woman going through the wreck site was also fascinating but depressing considering all the things we see.

Another remarkable Herzog doc, about Juliane Koepcke, the 17 year-old sole survivor of a 1971 plane crash in the Peruvian jungle. 27 years later, Herzog takes her to visit the crash site and retrace her nine-day journey to rescue. The tale has many fascinating elements, not the least of which is the fact that Herzog himself was almost on that flight, on his way to film AGUIRRE. Then there's the man with a special role in the story, and who almost lost his life helping with the documentary. The film contains the usual enigmatic Herzogian touches like his poetic narration and strange detours. One of my favorite moments was actually one of the least relevant: a minute is taken to film a young girl delighted with the camera. An upbeat glimmer of innocence in this story of someone facing the abyss and emerging through the other side, haunted forever but still alive.

Christmas 1971. A plane full of people crashes into the Amazon Jungle. A massive search is started and the wreckage is found. Despite the best efforts of rescuers no one is found alive and the search is called off. 16 Days later Juliane Koepcke, aged 17 stumbles out of the jungle, the only survivor.

Leave it to Werner Herzog to talk Juliane to go back into the jungle and show us what it was like. Amazing, hypnotic film who's subject haunted Herzog for decades-he was in the airport at the time the plane took off during his time making Aguirre. Clearly Herzog's obsession is our gain since this is a film that you fall into and watch in a state of wondrous disbelief. the thought of what this young girl went through is mind blowing, even if you take into account that she was raised in the jungle at a scientific station. No matter how you slice it she was ten ways to Sunday lucky. Julianne tells us what happened in a weird detached manner of fact manner that is strangely inviting and yet eerily unemotional. As she says she has wall up that will keep her safe. Its a wild film of an amazing story, a sibling of Herzog's Little Dieter Needs to Fly and Aguirre. I kept thinking that someone should turn it into a movie---and then Herzog shows clips from the movie that was made of the story complete with catty commentary by Juliane Koepcke who is standing in the jungle laughing at the silliness of it. I was very amused.

See this film. It will amaze you. Better it will entertain and inform you.

I've been an unrepentant fan of Werner Herzog ever since I saw him ranting in his German accent about the vileness and fornication of the jungle in "Burden of Dreams," Les Blank's 1982 documentary about the making of "Fitzcarraldo." Since then, I've seen most all of Herzog's films. There is something sublime, perverse, and almost autistically innocent about Herzog; even when he fudges things--which he frequently does--there is still a kind of oblique honesty about it, because he knows that we know what he's up to, yet he never doubts that we'll understand. I think it's okay for a documentary to have a point of view, and with "Wings of Hope," Herzog, as usual, exercises the prerogative to its fullest. But that's alright, he's Herzog. There will never be another.