Fata Morgana + The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner

A fabulously imaginative variation on traditional creation myths, shot in and around the debris-strewn Sahara and recounted in increasingly ironic chapters. The heroic claims of the voice-over – some of it taken from the K’iche’ mythological text Popol Vuh – are counterpointed by haunting, hallucinatory images of poverty, pollution, decay and bizarre humanity… and by Leonard Cohen’s music. Arguably Herzog’s first masterpiece.

A ski-jumper himself, Herzog decided to express his love and admiration for the gravity-defying sport and its foremost practitioners by making this tribute to the titular world champion. An illuminating and visually exhilarating study of fearless ambition, solitary obsession, and the almost magically seductive attraction of flight. The evocative music is by the band Popol Vuh, often used in Herzog’s 1970s films.

Also available on BFI Player