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| An unusual poster for Werner Herzog's Even Dwarfs Started Small, which begs us to squint to make out what it is showing us, which is in itself quite funny |
A group of dwarfs revolt against the institution they inhabit, and in fits of childlike glee destroy what they can there.
Even Dwarfs Started Small is the second film from great German writer-director Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo (1982)). It is an experimental drama in B/W that seems to be inspired by dreams, although it doesn't resemble any dream I've ever had. Some have opined that it has nightmarish qualities, but the contagious laughter and sheer silly glee of the dwarfs bar me from really feeling this alleged aspect of the film.
Because of the immobile, flat structure of the action, (it is not appropriate to really call it a plot), in which things just appear to happen without much in the way of causality, Even Dwarfs Started Small feels long. Some of the episodes in it are amusing, and the unique oddity of the whole movie is also hard not to embrace I find, - even if the meaning in it, - if indeed there is any, (which it is fair to be skeptical about), - escapes me.
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Watch the first minute of the film here
Cost: 0.2 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown
[Even Dwarfs Started Small premiered in May (Cannes) and runs 96 minutes. It was shot on Lanzarote, Spain. Stories about the production include that Herzog would direct one actor not to laugh and then tease him with a barrage of funny faces during the shot, so the guy would break down in laughter throughout the scene. One actor was overrun by the car driving in circles but was unscarred and immediately ready for more shooting. The same actor later caught fire, which Herzog put out, whereupon he swore that he could throw himself in a cactus patch and allow his actors to film it, if no one else was injured during shooting. No one was, and Herzog kept his promise. The film was released unrated in a small release in North America a few months after playing at the New York Film Festival. It played in West Germany and, years later, in Spain, Japan, Portugal, Greece and Australia. Herzog released 4 documentaries before his next fiction feature, which paired him with his 'muse' through many following films (Klaus Kinski), Aguirre, the Wrath of God/Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972). 5,227 Rotten Tomatoes users have given Even Dwarfs Started Small an average rating of 3.7/5.]
What do you think of Even Dwarfs Started Small?
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