Every Man for Himself and God Against All / The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1975) review

After being imprisoned for years without love, attention or education, the "noble savage" Kaspar Hauser (played by mentally ill "actor" Bruno S.) is freed and placed in the middle of town, where the locals band together to try to help him out. What no one seems to count on is Hauser's unique view of the world, which is due to his lack of standard 'upbringing' with its fixed ideas and focus on conformity. Although I prefer Truffaut's similar take in The Wild Child - with the director playing the role of the title character's primary educator - Herzog's is more dream-like, with his trademark off-kilter pacing and bizarre digressions. The casting of Bruno S. - as in Stroszek - is not in any way exploitative - in fact, it would be hard to imagine a regular "performer" being quite so convincing.