Stroszek
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Bruno S., Burkhard Driest, Clemens Scheitz, Eva Mattes, Wilhelm von Homburg Director: Werner Herzog Brand: Fox DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language) Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen Picture Format: 1.66:1 Running Time: 115 minutes Published: 2002-01-01 DVD Release Date: 2002-01-08 Audience Rating: Unrated Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay |
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Movie Reviews of Stroszek
Movie Review: What's with the chicken?
Summary: 4 Stars
I watched the film twice in a row, the second time with the director's commentary, which added quite a bit. The director tells us that the lead character, Bruno, was just playing himself, often improvising, and had a miserable childhood living in institutions. He seems, to me, to be intelligent, hapless, and so odd.
The only professional actor I remember in the film is the woman playing the leading female role, Eva. She plays a German prostitute who gets mistreated by her pimp.
The rest of the cast is non-professional. Bruno is just a very odd man. The pimp is what he appears to be in the film, a tough guy who enjoys hurting and humiliating people. The elderly lunatic who accompanies Bruno to America is just that, an elderly lunatic. The minor characters are just people who were recruited or happened to be around during the shooting.
It's an interesting story. They flee from Germany to get away from the dangerous pimp who harasses them. They take a boat to New York City and show us the view from the Empire State Building, a magnet for tourists. The only time I went up there was at the insistence of a tourist friend I was showing the town to. Then they go across country to Wisconsin.
I'm happy for them that they have escaped the abuse they were experiencing in Germany, but they end up not doing well in America either. Bruno is a mess, what can I say. He's an interesting mess though.
The main reason I put on the director's commentary was to find out why he spent so much time showing a dancing chicken at the end of the movie. Well, he disappointed there. Instead of explaining why the scene was there, he just said how much he loves the scene, and then let it play in its entirety without a word of explanation.
That is one hell of an odd scene, that dancing chicken. You'd think it would be symbolic of something, and perhaps it is. Symbolic of the animated senselessness of our lives? Or of Bruno's? I really can't say. Unfortunately, it is one of those cases where the artist doesn't explain himself, and just lets you take out of it whatever you want. I hate that. I hate when artists refuse to explain what they meant. Maybe he was just enjoying the sensation of watching a dancing chicken.