Encounters At The End Of The World

Year: 2007

Grade: C

Country: USA

Director: Herzog

Review

not a fan of herzog’s. here, again, his self-importance and attempts at novelty wear thin in spite of the intriguing subject matter. in short, he puts himself into his documentaries too much. every note in this film seems strained, he’s trying to make the film big, but what he doesn’t seem to realize is that it’s big enough as is; he doesn’t need to glorify it. at one point two scientists are talking and one reveals that they discovered three new species in their last dive. herzog asks “is this an important moment?” the maysles brothers would have shut the fuck up and let the thing speak for itself. res ipsa loquitor, as it has been put. herzog can’t do this, though, so you get a documentary with some cool stuff in it, told by a guy i can’t stand listening to.