Fireball: messaggeri dalle stelle

One can't go into a Werner Herzog documentary expecting a Discovery Channel or National Geographic style affair. Fireball is characterized by Herzog's iconic eccentricity, off-beat narrative style, quiet but intense narration, and sometimes far fetched and even seemingly non sequitur connections among ideas. He connects science, folklore, art, and other cultural histories through their connections with meteorites. I found this documentary fascinating, mysterious, and in some parts simply beautiful in the humanity on display.

As a long-time admirer of Herzog, I wouldn't describe myself as free from bias. I approached this documentary with caution, given my recent experiences with some of his latest work (Family Romance Inc, et al). Without ruining your experience, there is one thing I could say about this documentary: it transmits the passion and drive of Herzog's golden days. Many of the clichés are still there (the soundtrack, for instance), but in a good way. Herzog meets an old friend and together they explore a fascinating topic: meteorites. In the long, silent shots of human faces, the Herzog magic of old re-emerges. As in the old days, Fireball is ultimately a human look no other director could provide. It doesn't have the slow pace of ol'; Herzog's interaction with Hollywood probably has a lot to do with that. But in the end, Fireball deserves to be seen. It is an intimate and colourful exploration of us and the rocks and dust that makes us.

Tiff 2020 02

Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds

It's always a joy to listen to Werner Herzog as he goes through his subjects and narrates them and you can see his passion, his excitement for finding unique, hard to find little stories about science, about people around the world and to retell them through his filmmaking skills, to try to share that beautiful things he found in his journey.

However, this film is a bit formless and weak on structure and layout. Herzog and his co-director Clive Oppenheimer just go interview some knowledgeable people and scientists about asteroids and meteorites. There's no arc and momentum about this film, it's just a collection of interviews, locations and some information about meteorites. If you already have an interest about them, this is a must see for you, and if not, well, it's a watchable film but not a very deep or memorable one.

Definitely not as juicy as some of Werner Herzog's other documentaries. Maybe it was the effect Oppenheimer had on the interviewees; maybe he couldn't get as much out of them as Herzog might have. The subject matter is infinitely intriguing but Fireball just didn't get out of 3rd gear.

Another documentary on Apple TV, shamefully this is the first Werner Herzog documentary that I've seen. If they're all as enjoyable as this one, I'll start hunting down a few more.

The Documentary sees Herzog and his scientific collaborator Clive Oppenheimer travel the world looking at the impact, physically, culturally and spiritually, that Meteors and Comets have had on the Earth. From scientific studies, both low and high tech, to the effect that Meteors have had on the storytelling of remote Pacific tribes, they explore with a sense of wonder and with Herzog's deadpan delivery of the voiceovers.

As Documentaries go, "Fireball" takes rather a scattershot approach to investigating all the ways that Meteorites and Asteroids have affected our planet, it's never less than beautiful though - as our heroes circumnavigate the globe meeting scientists, theologians and tribesman to hear stories, theories and facts about the subject. We see a wide range of vistas and landscapes all wonderfully caught on camera and occasionally with the excellent use of a drone.

A little of the documentaries style takes some getting used to. Herzog likes to hold uncomfortably long shots on the interview subjects, whilst he explains in voice over who they are and why they went to see them. Oppenheimer actually conducts most of the interviews, in a light chatty fashion which I think helps to put a few of the more awkward subjects at ease, there's also a lovely moment towards the end when he finds a large Meteorite in the polar icecaps. Herzog's Bavarian brogue takes a little getting used to, but once I was, I really loved it and he's really very funny, with odd little asides and descriptions of the action that genuinely made me laugh out loud a few times.

It's not quite as deep in some areas as I might have liked, but it's as enthusiastic and enamoured with its subject as any documentary I've seen in a long time.