The Dark Glow of the Mountains
Dir: Werner Herzog
1984
****
Herzog always picks fascinating characters for his documentaries, in the case of The Dark Glow of the Mountains, Herzog focuses on Mountaneer Reinhold Messner who is immediatly unlike most of his usual subjects. He is without conviction. He is a lost soul who can't keep still and doesn't really understand himself why he risks life and limb to climb mountains. He doesn't even seem to enjoy it much. It's very unlike a Herzog film but that in itself makes it very much like a Herzog film. Good old Werner though, telling it how it is, when the climber reveals that on his last expedition with his brother, tragedy struck and he came down alone he asks "How did you explain that to your mother?". This comes across as quite brutal but it's a good question and that's what makes Herzog's documentaries so compelling. The scenery is amazing too. I did miss Herzog's voice though as the version I've seen has a cheesy American voice over that can't match Herzog's monotone yet smooth sounding voice.