Heart of Glass
Director: Werner Herzog
Year Released: 1976
Rating: 2.0
Clever Herzog experiment - in which a psychiatrist tried hypnotizing the cast prior to filming - doesn't quite work but hey, at least he tried something new: after the death of a village's famed glassblower, the town's inhabitants go collectively insane, realizing they can't replicate his unique techniques. I appreciate the sentiment that once an artisan is lost, regardless of what he/she leaves behind the work can never be replaced (every replica is a fraud), but Herzog's not much into the philosophy of the scenario, opting instead for disconnected scenes and cryptic ramblings and some memorable images of clouds, islands and the sea. The cast doesn't appear so much hypnotized as confused - they could have used an Oliver Sachs-type to snap them out of it.
