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

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun (1989)

*** (out of 4)

Very interesting documentary that follows the Wodaabe tribe of the Sahara region as they discuss various parts of their lives including a four year drought they had just gone through. The majority of the film focuses on a seven day beauty pageant where the women get to pick men to spend the night with and perhaps marry. I'm not sure how Herzog picks his material when it comes time to do a documentary but he's got a magic touch at finding interesting subjects. This is a very interesting documentary that shows us some people that many probably never even heard of and I have to wonder how many of the people in the film had ever seen a video camera before the German director showed up to film them. The film moves at a very fast pace and there's not a single slow moment even though a lot of the film is pictures only and doesn't feature too much narration. The narration is done by Herzog himself and that incredible voice works well with the film. There are several very cute moments including the morning after a couple has stayed the night together and Herzog is trying to question them but they are blushing so much and can't think of anything to say. It's moments like that that make this documentary worth seeing.

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---

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.

This film leaves so many important details out. There are many questions I had after seeing the film that could have been answered easily.

In addition, the somber tone of the film, combined with the classical European songs dubbed over footage of the Wodaabe, gave the film a unique feeling of looking in from a colonialist perspective. Not the type of mood one wants to set when making an essentially anthropological film.

As a peek into the lifestyle and culture of a foreign people, the film did not fail completely. But, with so many other statements being made, the focus was really taken away from what would appear to be a really interesting group of people.

Herdsmen of the Sun is one of Werner Herzog's more under-seen documentary featurettes, which like Lessons of Darkness is shorter than an hour, probably with enough time for a few commercials if need be (both were shot for, or at least meant for, television broadcast on German networks). But it casts a light on a society of outcasts, and through Herzog's unblinking observations on them gets out what is something of a consistency in his catalog of work: the theme of outcasts who've created an insulated world for themselves, thanks (or rather no thanks) to factors of their infrastructure and how they communicate. It probably has some company to share alongside the likes of Even Dwarfs Started Small, or even Stroszek. If this one is any different it's because there's more of an issue with nature itself- because of a long-standing drought, many were put in a position of having to fend for the lowest common denominator (there's the insinuation many died in the interim, or those who couldn't sell their herds in time).

If Herdsmen of the Sun stands out in as a Herzog film it's because it showcases the director as anthropologist. His narration details the mating habits as if these were any other species of animal: the ritualistic nature of preparations with make-up of the men and the contortions of the facial expressions (even more fascinating is to hear how they stand seven feet tall, no tippy-toes). Although one might expect the main difference between Herdsmen of the Sun and any given National Geographic TV doc is that the people on camera look right at it, Herzog uses this to an effect that's rather challenging, and even stirring to the mind. Like in Fata Morgana- the opening shot here also a mirage- it's about the faces themselves, expression, and how one looks and has a personality even more-so through having to put on a sort of act for a strange thing like a camera. Equally good are the candid moments when one sees Woodabe talking just like any other guy or woman at a bar, about their latest sexual conquests or crushes.

It's actually sort of charming, in Herzog's skewed, sad viewpoint, as is a lot of the film under moments of recognition of the estrangement of the other under somber opera music.