Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

Director: Werner Herzog 

Cinematographer: Peter Zeitlinger

Dedicated to late Roger Ebert, Encounters at the End of the World is another avant-garde documentary piece by Hergoz. Along with his cameraman (Zeitlinger), this time he ventures to south-most point of the planet—South Pole, Antarctica.

Ebert is clearly all enamored by the film, praising it highly: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/encounters-at-the-end-of-the-world-2008, and rightly so. 

Hergoz's largely extempore interviews with scientist and travelers in various Antarctican base camps form the base material of the film. He eventually uses these casual interactions to explicate an underlying script for the film.

The footage beautifully captures the exotic Antarctica—loony penguins running wild, astounding seal-calls, luminescent jelly fish, under-surface tunnel leading right below the South Pole—leaving you simply bewitched. Mesmerizing underwater footage gives you a feel of the nether regions. Personally, I would have preferred the dead-silence of the sea bottom. However, realizing that the silent period would be little too long, Hergoz substituted it with cathedral-like music.

Making this film seem so natural was no mean feat, and wouldn’t have been possible for any other, even capable, director. Due to his reputation, Hergoz was allowed exclusive access to some publicly inaccessible areas and personnel. An excerpt from film's Wikipedia page:

“The film was shot in Antarctica as part of the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Artists and Writers Program. The entire film crew consisted of Herzog, who recorded all production sound, and cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger. The two went to Antarctica without any opportunity to plan filming locations or interview subjects, and had only seven weeks to conceive and shoot their footage. Herzog often met his interview subjects only minutes before he began shooting them.

Filming in Antarctica is usually overseen by the National Science Foundation's media office, which approves and supervises all film productions. Because of Herzog's grant from the Artists and Writers Program, he was allowed to film with no minders or oversight from the NSF. This allowed them to film the "seal-bagging" footage, which is not typically deemed suitable for public release.”

Of course, you can read more in the wiki-page itself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encounters_at_the_End_of_the_World

Peter Zeitlinger's astonishing behind-the-lens work deserves a special mention here. As always, he measures up to the vision and eccentricities of Herzog every time—exploring ice caves forged by fumaroles (volcanic steam and gas) on the slope of an active volcano is the best example of it.

Through this film, Hergoz is basically asking a question about Earth and mankind's distant future. 

8.2/10

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)

Director: Werner Herzog and Dmitry Vasyukov

Genre: Documentary

With "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga" Werner Herzog (along with Dmitry Vasyukov and crew) once again ventures into an exotic, distant land; narrating traditional (at times prehistoric) way-of-living of the 300-odd people in the remote village of Bakhta in Siberian Taiga.

The film primarily focuses on village's main breadwinners: 'trappers' who quarry in the thick of below -50 degree winter in the wilderness stretching thousands of square kilometers, across the Yenisei River flowing alongside the village. The village is almost untouched by modernity and highly independent--snow-mobile and chainsaw few of the exceptions. Inaccessible most of the year, village can only be reached by a plane, or a boat in the short-lived, appropriate spring-summer season.  

Herzog/Vasyukov esthetically showcase the authentic 'happiness' a human-being relishes even in absence of technology and materialistic advancements. All you need is a sense of freedom and accomplishment that folks in Taiga mostly come upon by the constantly keeping themselves constructively engaged. Instead of  harming/modifying the nature, they have learned to live in harmony with it--assimilating their lifestyles around four different seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.

Documenting an entire year in Taiga, the film is kind of divided in four chapters--the four seasons--that can only be best described/felt by seeing. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, below are some screen captures from the film covering the 4-season cycle and the specific chores set around them.   

Spring:

Passing on the conventional wisdom (Ski-making)

      Setting up the base structure of quarry-traps

Smoking the Ski for shape and sturdiness

Canoe for fishing made of local wood

Widening of canoe using fire

Testing the new canoe and green huskies in first waters

 Summer:

Constructing huts for deep winter in the wilderness

Thawing of the river, Yenisei

Inherent tendencies of the Orion kicking in!

Fall: 

Nut gathering squirrel connotes: "Winter is coming"

Night-fisherman: fish is attracted to the fire-light

                   
                         

Storing supplies nearby winter hut, away from Bear's

 reach

Bear hibernating but rats still a threat

Wading upstream: Transporting essentials to the hut

 Winter:

Checking the traps for quarry

Earning his keep, smells prey!

After a hard day's work returning back to a roof that might cave-in under snow

Meanwhile, in the village: Fishing Holes

Returning home for New Year/Christmas

Trappers visit family during festivities, notice the laika running behind the snowmobile--he runs all along the 150 frozen kilometers of the river! After a short stay with family (till Jan 6, Christmas) trapper retreats to his wilderness for a couple more months--to his hut (that is naturally insulated using earth and dry moss) with his best friend.

Thanks to Herzog, this documentary is a chance to somewhat live a dream lifestyle lot of us crave for.

8.5/10