Even Dwarfs Started Small

Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen

Herzog’s withering parable about power combines surrealism, satire and a palpable affection for the cast’s anarchic antics.

  • Director

    Werner Herzog

  • With

    Helmut Döring, Gerd Gickel, Paul Glauer, Erna Gschwendtner

  • West Germany 1970. 96min

  • Digital

  • Certificate

    PG

  • English subtitles

A wonderfully withering parable about power, set in an isolated penal institution entirely inhabited by short but very rebellious inmates. Filming in Lanzarote, Herzog observes their anarchic behaviour with great affection and a wry awareness of the futility of much human aspiration. The cast are gloriously enthusiastic in their disruptive antics, so that the film feels not unlike Luis Buñuel’s dry wit blended with Jean Vigo’s energetic intensity.

Please note this film contains scenes of animal cruelty which viewers may find disturbing.