Herzog has always been fascinated by the human experience rising to meet the greatest challenges of the human experience such as living within the mouth of a volcano, the darkest voids of the earth and getting into the mind of a man who only spends time among grizzly bears. In his latest documentary ‘Theater of Thought’, Herzog explores the mechanics of the human mind by raising questions such as What is thought? Is it possible to write it down or make copies of it? How do we know this isn’t a simulation? Satisfyingly for the viewers, Herzog tries to answer these questions however the documentary that follows this inquiry seems to be one of the more disjointed examples of Herzog’s film in his career.
“What can you say about humanity?“ raises one more question that Herzog asks in the ‘Theater of Thought’. This moderate question stands out though as it demonstrates Herzog’s trademark ethos “If humanity lacked thought, if humanity lacked any reflection or consideration of the world, history, and society, and if there was a photographer standing by, would humanity be deemed decent? To this simple image I believe thoughts are relevant.” But on second thoughts, along with providing further insights into his work and way of thinking, it opens up new avenues of questions. Taxi Driver is a legendary movie that many authors recommend to people. In this case, it is the same for all. However in Herzog’s case, this gets infinitely more complicated. He is characteristically violent harsh, uncompromising, at times blunt. He seems to appreciate his work and religion a little, but this does not change a lot. He also shows an appreciation for long shots without the introduction of characters, and again, does not change it too much either. What plays into his hand is his distinct take on life, which is an absolute war zone. That is sometimes subjective to the area Herzog has to work in.
Born in Germany, he later moved to the United States. His mother was an administrator in a boarding school. Beginning from an early age, he had always been surrounded by strong characters. It would not be a far-stretched claim to make that he spent an extended amount of time in war zones, his accounts of Berlin and New York showcase the weakest points of two cities, and refuse to lighten up. It does set the stage well for every captivating theatrical show or captivating film he makes. However, one would find it difficult to fit him into a singular scene. The one who saw everything and lost hope. One who decided to ‘accept the drop’, beautifully integrating it into his art. ‘Humanity is capable of the most astonishing and at times, terrible feats.’
Visually, there is scope for improvement, the perversity of only conducting one interview at a time can become monotonous quickly and the excessive use of the Times New Roman font along the bangs of the boom mic footage makes one feel as though Herzog, who is presumably eighty something years old, is forgetting the small things that matter. On the other hand, There are also elements that lend his works a certain rustic feel which in turn, makes “Theater of Thought” look like some home video of a senior citizen which might be released during the festive season to share with family tales of questionable significance, but is nonetheless entertaining.
For the most part, the interludes are rather humorous: Herzog scans the brain activity of hydra vulgaris at Rockefeller University or Bryan Johnson, a tech billionaire who looks quite pale, is shown in a separate video with a neuro-scanner. Herzog’s narration discusses simulation theory while two videos are projected, one features Baby Shark and the other is a cutscene from StarCraft II, in between stirring comments from neuroscientists about whether future generations will have the ability to watch the next movie in his head as if it has already been manufactured. It does cross the mind whether he is simply trying to reduce the costs of making the movie. It’s all very random and unclear at once, which can please and irritate at the same time.
But this union of the mind and the heart, this fusion of Herzog as a creative humanist and the cold science of his subjects, is what makes “Theater” tick. Of particular interest was a scene where he inquires a scientist in the projection room of a theatre in San Francisco, the one there’s quite amusing themes on how one’s brain animate stimuli while he’s beside a movie projector. One imagines Herzog is desperate to transfer that man’s thoughts into the film, as the projector is translated into the eye of the mind, seeking to establish the relations between the eye and the screen. (On this aside moment, there’s not a great deal to stimulate the eye, I mean, there are not too many interesting images captured on film. You could rather just turn off your sight and listen to Herzog advising these people and capture most of the sense.)
For true masterpieces there stands the hope that whenever she finds the little Wink, “Theater of Thought” will always have a completely new repertoire which she takes herself off with consonantal emissions during their interaction with older Werner. But for the wider audience, the questions of such reality and how our brain processes it are perhaps not too deep besides helping Hudson know more about himself in his art. It’s not so much that you shut your mind, but there’s not too much to engage with unless you want to.
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