Documentary, Germany 1971, 85 mins.
This month´s Werner Herzog film will be his early documentary “Land of Silence and Darkness”, in which his profound fascination for the human experience is well demonstrated. The film centres around and hinges upon the work of 56-year-old Fini Straubinger, who became deaf and blind in her teenage years. Dedicated to helping and soothing others in similar situations, Straubinger introduces the viewers to a community of deaf-blind people and reveals the intricacies of basic daily life, including touch-based communication. Rather than trying to surmise or simulate what their experience might be like, Herzog watches, waits and learns - and Land of Silence and Darkness is all the more compelling for it.
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