Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) by Werner Herzog
Sunday, October 15, 1989, 8:00 pm
Land Of Silence And Darkness
By Werner Herzog
At first Werner Herzog’s Land of Silence and Darkness (1971, 88′) seems intimidating: a documentary on the world of those who are both deaf and blind women. The results, however, defeat one’s expectations, for the film is neither morbidly depressing nor heartwarmingly uplifting. Fini Straubinger is a remarkable 56 year-old deaf-blind woman who travels through Germany as a morale-booster and consultant for her fellow inhabitants of the land of silence and darkness. Through Fini Straubinger we are introduced to an existence so intense and abstract that it seems to produce unconscious poetry. Also: Last Words (1967,12’) by Herzog.