I’ll put it blunty: there is no other filmmaker that is quite in the same class asWerner Herzog. That isn’t to say there aren’t filmmakers who have made more masterworks than the brilliant documentary and narrative director, mind you, but no one has been able to consistently conjure the empathy, the personal sense of people’s behavior, and odd perspective that Herzog finds in each of his films. He’s an obsessive filmmaker and obsession tends to be his very focus in his films, and that looks to be exactly the case withLo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, his upcoming documentary about the internet.
A new trailer from Magnolia, who picked up the film at Sundance this year, has just arrived, and teases interviews withElon Musk, as well as thoughts on how the internet and robotics will change religion and filmmaking eventually. Most surprising is how human and funny all of this very heady material looks here, which means we might have Herzog’s most widely seen and celebrated film sinceGrizzly Manhere. The film comes out in limited release on August 19th via Magnolia, and I plan to be at the first screening at my most local theater.
Here’s the latest trailer forLo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World:
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Legendary master filmmaker Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Cave of Forgotten Dreams) examines the past, present and constantly evolving future of the Internet in Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World. Working with NETSCOUT, a world leader in-real time service assurance and cybersecurity, which came aboard as a producer and led him into a new world, Herzog conducted original interviews with cyberspace pioneers and prophets such as PayPal and Tesla co-founder Elon Musk, Internet protocol inventor Bob Kahn, and famed hacker Kevin Mitnick.
These provocative conversatons reveal the ways in which the online world has transformed how virtually everything in the real world works, from business to education, space travel to healthcare, and the very heart of how we conduct our personal relationships. In the words of executive producer Jim McNiel, “It’s a journey even Werner, with his immense imagination and inquisitive mind, didn’t expect. Unless you have lived in the technology space, you don’t yet fully appreciate what dwells there.” Herzog adds: “It is one of the biggest revolutions we as humans are experiencing.”
And here’s the official poster for the film:
