An obsessed German film director makes a film about an obsessed rubber baron in the Amazon. Werner Herzog has characterized himself as "Conquistador of the Useless;" clearly, lack of utility is one of several characteristics of art, but it is the sole focus here. The original Carlos Fitzcarrald transported a 30 ton boat in pieces from one river to another over dry land; Herzog's crew moves a 320 ton boat in one piece with manual labor. People could be killed or gravely injured. The background of this portrait overwhelms the foreground: the destruction on the Amazon forest and the extinction of the native peoples should be of greater concern than the problems of a filmmaker. A bulldozer is used to clear swaths of land which Herzog promises to purchase and donate to residents, who already wear clothing manufactured elsewhere. I'm sure it's one of the delights of being a film director that you get people to do things that they would not ordinarily do, but art has greater requirements.
Review of Burden of Dreams
