JEDER FÜR SICH UND GOTT GEGEN ALLE (1974) *** Even in rural Germany , it's not every day that a young man shows up in the village square, unable to speak or think or even stand-up much, and not apparently necessarily mentally challenged. In no time, of course, the rumour is that he's a nobleman, which would make sense, obviously. In fact he may well have been (true story), and conspiracy theorists and political scientists have idled away no small amount of time as to how the world would have been different (better, invariably) had he ascended to his proper throne. Behaviourists and social scientists have more obstinately wondered at the response of this 16 year-old tabula rosa to the world around him, and perhaps at this opportunity nearly entirely lost (though the town scribe can be seen taking copious notes). Werner Herzog leaves all that to all them. For him it's an amazing enough tale without embellishment, or more appropriately without overly developed speculation. Isn't it enough that…personal, not political, come on, who made up the term "social science" anyway? Herzog films an entirely credible film in shots that make hyper-realism seem less than a crime. If that's how it is, especially, that's how it is. When he goes for the full body shot he gets you every time: swirling pastoral scenes to the accompaniment of contemplative classical selections (Popol Vuh!), stories and dream sequences that look like they fell out of foreign service newsreels. Hauser comes out of it well, also, they only start getting mad at him once he learns some, and begins to challenge their beliefs. Bruno S. is about perfect as Caspar (having been discovered by Herzog in a documentary on mental illness) coming through somewhere between Neil Young and Planet of the Apes , Rousseau's noble savage, but a gentle one.
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