Portrait of a nomadic tribe desperately trying to survive. A drought and changing political situations in the countries they travel change the Wodaabe herdsmen try to hang on to their way of life and to simply continue. Werner Herzog's look at the Wodaabe begins with a scratchy record playing while we watch part of the 10 day fertility festival where the young men attempt to show they are the most beautiful to the women in the hopes of winning a bride. The juxtaposing of sound and image creates a very effect with the music seeming to work against the image. It is a precursor for the rest of the film as the old ways (seen in the festival as well as discussions) are shown cross cut with the reality of life as it is (having to pick through garbage in order to find food and goods for survival). This is a good film that suffers because time has made some of the scenes in this film seem similar to more recent African Crisis like in Darfur and elsewhere. Herzog may have been there early on but others have started to pick up similar stories. Its depressing to think that things may not have gotten better for the people of the region. Thankfully Herzog's skill and unique vision keep this from being a complete exercise of been there and done that. Worth a look if you run across it.
Review of Herdsmen of the Sun
