FATA MORGANA (1971) - ♦♦♦♦

 

The approach here is that of the old fashioned travellogue. Yet, despite the love and fascination of Herzog's camera eye for the unique and distinctive sinister beauty of the landscape, the filmmaker leaves plenty of room for poetic representation and experimentation with different camera techniques that serve as a metaphor of the physical and mental attacks on the body, a type of collective toll that the African body takes on the mind, body and soul of the prepared or unprepared traveller. Thus, for instance, not only do we see the setting glorified through the cinematography, but also grasp the feeling of mirages - this element a rather important depth and driving force to the nature of Fata Morgana.

 

This documentary is also accompanied by many elements that accentuate a sort of collective spontaneity to the experience. Poetry, out of field narration musing on the myth of creation (and what better place to do so than deep in the African desert) and more unusual elements like the use of songs by Leonard Cohen have no real reason to be part of the project apart from the fact that they work a charm on a cinematic level. On top of that, the film is essentially divided into three parts, but despite this, its loose and challenging nature will indeed make it a challenging work for anyone not necessarily willing to be swept off its feet by its meditative and direct thought provoking nature."