Freeze frame

A film giant finds cold comfort in Antarctica.

Werner Herzog has spanned the globe shooting movies (Fitzcarraldo, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Rescue Dawn, Grizzly Man) about strange people in locations audiences have never seen before. Now the 65-year-old Herzog has packed his bags for Antarctica in his latest film, Encounters at the End of the World, a doc about the community of McMurdo Station. Encounters is vintage Herzog: eccentric characters enjoying life to the fullest in a part of the world only a handful can appreciate. We spoke with him about his interest in the project, filming suicidal penguins and the one place that’s left for him to film.

In the past you’ve said in regard to your documentaries that you are not an “accountant of facts”; it’s more of an “ecstasy of truth” that you’re getting across.
Well, I’ve never made a documentary—they are all fiction films in disguise—but this situation was unique. I couldn’t prepare anything. I didn’t know who I would meet. There was no way to have any clear idea of what was coming at me, and that was the scary part because I was flying out and seven weeks later I had to come back with a movie. [Laughs] But it was wonderful to do it that way because that’s how movies should be made: You’re sent out and you come back with a film. Of course, I knew I would not make a film about fluffy penguins. But there are some [penguins] because I was fascinated by their insanity.

Well, that’s one of the most gripping moments in the film, where a penguin wanders from the pack to certain death. Was it as moving to film as it is to watch?
I think everyone finds it very moving and rightly so. I mean, what can I say, it’s one of the best things I’ve filmed in a long time. That one penguin really caught my eye, and you have to sense things like that when you are filming. If you don’t have that kind of sense in you, you just don’t make the film.

How did you find the people?
Most of them, for example, the journeyman plumber, I literally met in the length of time that you see him in the film. Or the man who speaks about the gigantic glacier, which is as large as the country of Lebanon, I had 30 minutes with him, and that’s all I saw of him, because he had to leave that very moment to the ice runway to catch a plane. [Laughs]

Was the trip more interesting because of the people you met rather than the sights you saw?
Oh, no. It was just everything. In a way, the film for me is very, very pleasant to watch, because it sums up what I’ve done all my life. Early on as a kid, I fell in love with the world, and somehow this film reflects it. I immediately recognized this is what my filmmaking is all about. It’s wonderful to see a Caterpillar driver who has a Ph.D. in philosophy and a Ph.D. in comparative literature. You see a retired judge washing the dishes in the galley. It’s just very amazing. Your interests have taken you all over the world, but you’re best known for filming in jungles.

How does the Antarctic setting differ from the other locations you’ve been to?
The jungle is easy, and Antarctica is quite easy. There’s this thought lingering that it must be terrifying and really demanding. You’ve got your shower, you have something to eat, there aren’t any distractions. What was also good about the filming was that there was the cinematographer, and I did the sound and directed the film, and that was the crew. In a way, this should be quite encouraging for young filmmakers. Yes, with no crew at all, you can come up with a very, very professional film that’s going to be shown theatrically.

You’re going to remake Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant next?
Yes. That one came out of the blue and starts immediately. It stars Nicolas Cage. I vaguely recall the original, but it’s a completely new version. It’s not a remake; it’s like James Bond. It’s just another James Bond movie. And later in the year, I’m set to do a film with Focus Features in Southeast Asia.

Are there locations you haven’t shot yet that you’d like to?
You mean are there any places left for me to shoot? [Laughs]

Yeah.
I’d love to be on one of the space missions, but I’m too old for that. I guess they wouldn’t allow me on board. I can’t believe that.

If any civilian can get through the training it would be you.
[Laughs] Well, I’m ready.

Encounters at the End of the World opens Friday 11. See timeoutchicago.com/nowplaying for showtimes.

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