StroszekThe grass is always greener on the other side of the fence...or the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, as is the case in Werner Herzog's Stroszek. Our hero of the tale is Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S.), recently released from prison for some kind of alcohol-related malfeasance, who befriends Eva (also Eva Mattes), a prostitute suffering under a pair of vicious pimps. When the two suffer all the abuse they can take, the pair of misfits join Bruno's landlord, Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz) to go live with his nephew in Wisconsin, and take part in that greatest of illusions, the American Dream.
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You may have guessed by the character names in regard to the actors', that Herzog is stripping away as much as is reasonable of the fiction between his cast and reality, which by nature distances us from the plot when we know that actors are just playing a role. We are less insulated by the comfort that what we are watching is "just a movie". More noteworthy is the experimental director's choice to cast a predominance of non-actors in the film, setting the events in convincing, real locales. What we end up with is the sense of a documentary with a constructed narrative, a simulation of playing God, while Bruno undergoes his tribulations both at home and abroad. Like others, Bruno is led to believe that going to America will solve all his problems, and running away is a solution. It seems that Bruno has made a habit of escaping his problems, given that his incarceration is described as having something to do with a bent toward alcoholism. When warned by the warden upon his release to avoid alcohol--perhaps out of spite or lack of control--his first stop out of prison is to the pub. Bruno is a music lover, but this too is a kind of escape, since there's no indication that his pursuits are designed to make him any money. Rather, when he gets to the States, instead of exploiting his talent and passion, he gets a menial job working on cars for his landlord's nephew, which can't be paying him much. It is sad that Bruno does not find that way to make a living out of his music--his performance in the paved division between a pair of apartment buildings shows that he has a real kind of talent as a musical entertainer, like a kind of German Tom Waits. Bruno's escape to America is complicated further, since he cannot speak English, and has to rely on Eva to translate for him. This language barrier make life even harder for Bruno; where he felt ignored or unliked in his homeland, here he feels simply incomprehensible and alien.
Werner Herzog has a history of exploring language in his films, making movies in German and English, but when the hapless trio arrive in America, it becomes clear that German is no longer the native tongue to them. For an English-speaking audience, having grown accustomed to watching the movie entirely in German, it is also a bit startling when we start hearing our own language, as if it were foreign. When Eva, Bruno, and Scheitz return to speaking in German with each other, it suddenly feels more familiar, and that is one of the most clever of tricks Herzog plays on his American viewers. There is clearly some kind of relationship which has blossomed for Eva and Bruno--either romantic or of some kind of deep friendship. When the idea to flee to Wisconsin is proposed, Eva gives her profession one last go to raise some quick cash to finance their voyage. And when money gets scarce after they have settled in to their new manufactured home, Eva falls back on her old ways, underscoring how little things have actually changed for her. For Bruno, at least in Germany he had his music; in America, he's stuck moping in the garage, drinking vending machine beer trying to express himself and his angst with an abstract sculpture he carved. The money troubles reach a head when a representative from the bank pays a "friendly" visit to remind them of their fiduciary obligations. Upon leaving with Eva's financial contribution toward the loan, Bruno attempts sarcasm with him, which is wonderfully ironic, as he wouldn't get the joke at his expense. Once Eva finally abandons Bruno, the same rep shows up to have Bruno's house auctioned and wheeled off. The auction is performed by a professional auctioneer, replete with incomprehensible speech even to those whom English is a first language. This scene is immensely humiliating to Bruno, who literally can't understand what's going on. When Bruno regales this sad tale to a fellow German-speaking business man, after the tow truck he stole from Scheitz's nephew dies at a reservation in the mountains, the man summarizes how he lost his gal, his car went kaput, and they wheeled off his house--Bruno's life has turned into a sad country song.
Recommended for: Fans of a charmingly, cynical comedy about a group of German oddballs coming to America to try their hand at the Land of Opportunity, only to find that the well has run dry, and they're forced to adapt in the most bizarre of fashions.
Werner Herzog has a history of exploring language in his films, making movies in German and English, but when the hapless trio arrive in America, it becomes clear that German is no longer the native tongue to them. For an English-speaking audience, having grown accustomed to watching the movie entirely in German, it is also a bit startling when we start hearing our own language, as if it were foreign. When Eva, Bruno, and Scheitz return to speaking in German with each other, it suddenly feels more familiar, and that is one of the most clever of tricks Herzog plays on his American viewers. There is clearly some kind of relationship which has blossomed for Eva and Bruno--either romantic or of some kind of deep friendship. When the idea to flee to Wisconsin is proposed, Eva gives her profession one last go to raise some quick cash to finance their voyage. And when money gets scarce after they have settled in to their new manufactured home, Eva falls back on her old ways, underscoring how little things have actually changed for her. For Bruno, at least in Germany he had his music; in America, he's stuck moping in the garage, drinking vending machine beer trying to express himself and his angst with an abstract sculpture he carved. The money troubles reach a head when a representative from the bank pays a "friendly" visit to remind them of their fiduciary obligations. Upon leaving with Eva's financial contribution toward the loan, Bruno attempts sarcasm with him, which is wonderfully ironic, as he wouldn't get the joke at his expense. Once Eva finally abandons Bruno, the same rep shows up to have Bruno's house auctioned and wheeled off. The auction is performed by a professional auctioneer, replete with incomprehensible speech even to those whom English is a first language. This scene is immensely humiliating to Bruno, who literally can't understand what's going on. When Bruno regales this sad tale to a fellow German-speaking business man, after the tow truck he stole from Scheitz's nephew dies at a reservation in the mountains, the man summarizes how he lost his gal, his car went kaput, and they wheeled off his house--Bruno's life has turned into a sad country song.
Recommended for: Fans of a charmingly, cynical comedy about a group of German oddballs coming to America to try their hand at the Land of Opportunity, only to find that the well has run dry, and they're forced to adapt in the most bizarre of fashions.