Herzog is a favorite of mine and this film perfectly illustrates why. The performance by Bruno S. is hypnotizing. The actor seems to be receiving a transmission as opposed to acting. The film embraces the myth of Kaspar Hauser and ignores findings suggesting that much of his story was impossible, or that he was regarded as a pathological liar and that several of the people who cared for him came to detest him, later testifying that they thought he was a con-man. Nonetheless, as often is the case with Herzog, he’s more interested in the deeper truth of human existence than in the actual details of Hauser’s case. He’s obviously taken with the feral child concept and the idea of using it as a symbol of the individual against the collective, the uncivilized against the civilized. And though I’d love to see someone tell the “real” story of Hauser, this piece of cinema poetry, infused with just a hint of philosophical rage, is pitch-perfect in nailing its intent.