Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen (1984)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writers:

Werner Herzog (written by) and
Bob Ellis (written by)

Release Date:

8 February 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The geologist Lance Hackett is employed by an Australian mining company to map the subsoil of a desert...

Plot Keywords:

Ant | Plane | Mining | Desert | Mining Company

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bruce Spence	...	Lance Hackett
Wandjuk Marika	...	Miliritbi
Roy Marika	...	Dayipu
Ray Barrett	...	Cole
Norman Kaye	...	Baldwin Ferguson
Ralph Cotterill	...	Fletcher
Nick Lathouris	...	Arnold
Basil Clarke	...	Judge Blackburn
Ray Marshall	...	Solicitor General Coulthard
Dhungala I. Makika
Gary Williams	...	Watson
Tony Llewellyn-Jones	...	Fitzsimmons
Robert Brissenden
Michael Edols	...	Young attorney
Bob Ellis	...	Supermarket manager

Also Known As:

Where the Green Ants Dream

Runtime:

Germany:100 min

Country:

West Germany | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Breakaways Reserve, South Australia, Australia

Company:

Pro-ject Filmproduktion

Trivia:

The whole story of the green ants was made up by Werner Herzog, it's not a part of genuine Aboriginal folklore. However the courtroom incident where a secret artifact is revealed, to the bemusement of the judge, is based on a real incident.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bis ans Ende... und dann noch weiter. Die ekstatische Welt des Filmemachers Werner Herzog (1989) (TV)

A Neglected and Unknown Classic

I'm invariably surprised when I mention this film to friends that they say they've never seen it. Werner Herzog in Australia? C'mon. How could the great German director of Wozzeck, Nosferatu and other Gothic classics concern himself with a very oblique tale of a development project impeded by Aboriginal Australians who contend that disturbing the green ants dreams by ripping up their habitat will likewise rip the fabric of the universe? The government solution is to give them an airplane which one of the younger members of their tribe eventually manages to take off with a number of the elders on board. Looking over the cast, you likely not recognize names that most of us who don't follow Aussie films know; some of us may know Bruce Spence from the Mad Max films who plays a geologist, but there are many Australian Aborigines. A poignant moment is seen in the court room scene where one Aborigine rises to speak and the judge asks for a translation, only to be told the men is called "the Mute" because there's no one left who understands his tribal language.

The overall effect of the film is wonderfully Herzog with a surrealistic portrayal of the clash of old and new, progress versus conservation and fraught with cultural miscommunication. I really recommend this film for your viewing.