MUBI

What is Stroszek? Stroszek is many things. Stroszek as a character is an archetype, as a movie it is about America but not of America. Stroszek is ‘one of the oddest films ever made’; Stroszek is every inch the classic.

Any audience can see the source of inspiration for many modern films in Stroszek. ‘Wise Blood’; Mike Leigh’s ‘Naked’ among many others. Stroszek is full of wonderful, strange moments, memorable vignettes such as Stroszek, cigarette ablaze, seated in a dingy flat, asking his elderly neighbour questions about life, and being answered only by musical phrases from his ‘black friend’, that is, his old out-of-tune black grand piano; seemingly played for real.

Herzog without a doubt is an absolute lunatic. His cinematic lunacy knows no bounds. He does whatever is on his mind at that moment – reflecting his own world view, he is truly a chaotic person. And the very origins of this movie support that – he wrote it in a matter of days, to give Bruno S. something to do after he rejected him from Woyzeck.

The liner notes to the Werner Herzog boxset contains a few paragraphs about the film, written by author Jim Knipfel. Apparently many people read the film as ‘a critique of American capitalism’ but more importantly he also states that Herzog disagrees with this. And I would too. There is simply not enough insight into the characters’ lives in America, not enough work goes into distinguishing their American life from their German life to truly justify calling the film ‘anti-American’ or anything of the sort. Stroszek doesn’t fit in anywhere. He is a drifter. Was his life better in Wisconsin, or in Berlin? As Bruno tells us, they were horrible, and ‘closed the doors to him’ or ‘kicked him to the curb’ in totally different ways.

It’s not everyday that I’m able to watch a Film five seats over from its Director, but for Stroszek, I was able to enjoy the Film sitting a mere five or six seats away from Werner Herzog. He had great insight on the FIlm and the experience was incredible, something that I’ll remember forever. I don’t think I would have liked the movie as much as I did if it wouldn’t have been in a packed theater with the Herzog in the room, because I was more willing to laugh at the “funny” parts and I learned some of the background of the movie which just gives it that much more charm. The movie was quirky and funny, but slow and actually really depressing at the same time. The humor is dark but it’s subtle, and it’s genius. The Actors are perfect and make the movie what it is without a doubt, it couldn’t have been done so beautifully without them. The story line itself is basic, but it’s really relatable and touching, being more relevant now than it’s ever been.

Stroszek (1977)is an amazing film that keeps getting richer with repeated viewings. For a leisurely paced film of normal length, a hell of a lot is happening on a character, visual and thematic level.

Most striking is simply the fact of Bruno S. in the title role. He’s either pretty much playing himself or has given one of the all time great film performances. A little reading about Bruno reveals that, like his character, he’s been abused and is mentally challenged to some degree (although functional). What we are seeing in the film is apparently Bruno’s own unique, larger-than-life personality, including that wonderfully odd speech pattern. This is most purely seen as we watch Bruno singing and playing the accordion with such gusto in the alleyway. This, along with director, Werner Herzog’s own background as a documentary filmmaker, plus the use of non-actors in most roles, blurs the fiction/reality line and lends a sense of authenticity to every scene.

Werner Herzog has an uncanny ability to make any landscape he films look like an alien environment from another planet. That he can achieve this effect shooting the Amazon in Aguirre: The Wrath of God or Antarctica in Encounters at the End of the World is one thing, but making this location magic work for Wisconsin is impressive on a whole other level. Being from Chicago, my perception of Wisconsin has always been that it’s a bit boring, but generally normal. Of course, Herzog is from Germany, as are his characters, so regarding the American Midwest as a foreboding and exotic land gives a similar sense of cultural displacement that ended up prominently featured in Lost in Translation.

The main theme is an indictment of societies that do not care for its weakest members. Bruno’s band of outsiders, being himself (a retarded man), his prostitute sometime girlfriend and a strange old gent, are brought together more by surrounding hostility than real affection toward each other. As the trio try to make their way in America, we get a distinctly foreign impression of the American Dream. I’ve heard stories that my grandparent’s generation thought the streets here were paved with gold. That seems not too far off from Bruno and his friend’s expectations. What seems to really demoralize the group is not that life remains hard, but that the American Dream represented a promise that couldn’t even be hoped for in Germany. For Herzog, the outsider remains an outsider no matter where he or she goes.

This idea is repeatedly represented, both through dialogue and visually, by the motif of a never-ending circle. It comes to fruition in that unforgettable, funny, sad, whacked out and perfect ending. It’s so perfect that I don’t even want to describe it in case there’s someone reading who hasn’t already seen the film.