Stroszek
d. Werner Herzog, 1977
Stroszek is a very strange but infinitely fascinating film. It's as absurd as the best of Buñuel, but I wouldn't consider it a comedy. It's an oddity, for sure, but it's not trying to create comedic situations. Instead, it treats its unconventional story with dignity. It follows Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S.), a recently released mental patient. At the heart of the film is the performance by Bruno S., which is quite disturbing in its sincerity. From what I've learned, Bruno was a prostitute's son, and he was beaten so badly that he lost his hearing for a while. He went to a mental institution until he was 26, and at some point he met Werner Herzog. Stroszek is also about Bruno's friends, a prostitute and an old man. The three of them decide to move to Wisconsin and live the "American Dream." Needless to say, it doesn't turn out as they had wanted. However, it seems rather pointless to describe any more of the plot. But I'll say this: the last sequence in Stroszek is the best out of the three Herzog films I've seen (this, Aguirre, and Lessons of Darkness).
