Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World (2016) User Reviews

An essay, not a documentary

[peefyn · 8/10 · 2 January 2017]

Herzog is a character, a clown, and it's hard not to love him. The moments where he peeks out (voice only) in this film are the absolute highlights. But it's important to remember with Herzog's films that they are often more than just documentaries, and I don't believe for a second that Herzog feels any obligation to present anything factual. He's interested in concept and perspectives, but not necessarily a photo realistic portrayal of the world. This is why I would argue that Herzog's films are more essays than documentaries. As long as you remember this, you will have a good time watching this movie.

Herzog approaches the internet as if he is a stranger to it, leading to some very naive questions to the highly educated people he is interviewing. They are made to answer different questions than they are used to, and this leads to different answers. You can see Elon Musk being pulled out of his element by Herzog volunteering to go to mars.

Herzog has a gift of finding the peculiar in people and situations. I am a bit worried that some of the people he is interviewing is not aware of how he will present them. I'm sure Herzog does it with love, but it's still obvious that he pick moments in the interviews where they are at their most goofy.

When it comes to the subject itself, and it's interesting (though disjointed) exploration of the future of the internet and the connected world, but like any essay, it doesn't really answer any questions.

One of the best documentaries I've seen in a while!

[framptonhollis · 8/10 · 21 August 2016]

It's interesting how Werner Herzog doesn't even own a cell phone, but his examination of the Internet can be more smart, unique, terrifying, entertaining, weird, and funny than anyone else's.

"Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World" is Werner Herzog's latest documentary film, and it takes an extraordinary look at the Internet. There's plenty of screen time given to both how it affects humans, and the science behind it all. There's hackers and robots, as well as stories about Internet addiction and abuse. There's comedy, tragedy, horror-and it's all real, and it's really, really fascinating. Sometimes when a film covers a lot of material it becomes overwhelming, and tonally all over the place, but Herzog manages to balance everything just perfectly so the whole film works very well and never feels like too much.

There's plenty of fun to be had watching "Lo and Behold". It's not just an average, boring science documentary, it's a genuinely entertaining movie. Some of the most fascinating people you'll ever see are interviewed, and they tell some of the most fascinating stories you'll ever hear, and it's all filled with humor and, at times, even absurdity. It's fun to watch, and it will make you think. There's plenty of questions raised that are amazing, and there's plenty raised that are scary. It's a movie unlike any other I've seen be released this year, and it will blow your mind!

Highly entertaining and thought provoking, but aimed at a general audience

[Thomas_from_CA · 8/10 · 25 August 2016]

As another reviewer pointed out, this documentary lacked somewhat in depth, mostly due to the sheer number of topics covered (I believe there were 10). That's quite a few for a 98 minute work, so don't expect a terribly lengthy discussion on any one topic. Nonetheless, I thought it was highly entertaining with plenty of dry, computer nerdy humor while also managing to squeeze in enough serious commentary to make this overall a very thought provoking documentary.

Each topic is (obviously) related to the internet and what has developed from and within it, and each topic is covered primarily through interviews with experts in various fields (for many of the experts interviewed, their enthusiasm for the subject is palpable and quite endearing), with a few breaks for personal interest stories related to a given topic. For the most part, the topics are covered in chronological order.

To me, the early days of the internet, artificial intelligence, and the "internet of me" were the best sections, but all were worthwhile. The sections on AI and "the internet of me" in particular really make you wonder what the world will look like in 20 or 30 years. It's difficult to think of another invention or innovation that has changed society as pervasively or as quickly as the internet has. This film does a nice job of capturing that recent history and imaginatively foreshadowing what might be just around the corner.

Fascinating if disjointed wander through the subject

[bob the moo · 19 November 2016]

The internet is only a small subject for those that (like me) see it in the simple terms of what I know I do on it – check emails, read information, etc. However with such an expansive subject it was a good thing that the curious mind of Herzog was given the project of examining it in this film. I have read some people complain about the weakness of this film as a 'documentary', with comments about how key players such as Mark Zuckerberg and others are not included; the answer to such criticism is in the title, because this is not a documentary so much as it is a reverie, which is to say a musing and free-floating daydream through the subject.

In the editing suite this was obviously reined in somewhat because the film is structured into broad chapters. This helps the film be watchable, but importantly does not lose the sense of drifting through the subject with plenty to think about but nothing too solid that would break the state of reverie. Whether or not this works for you will depend on the individual, but Herzog's style made it work for me because he drives this approach with his angles and his line of thought (although he often seems less present than in some other of his films). It doesn't all fit together neatly of course, and at times tonally it is uneven, but mostly it is a quite fascinating wander through the ideas and connections of the internet, and is well worth seeing for what it leaves you with as much as what it offers directly.

When it's bad it's still pretty good.

[jungerhanson · 6/10 · 15 January 2017]

When it's bad it's still pretty good...

Lo and Behold is in my opinion not one of the best efforts by Herzog. It's entertaining, it has Herzog's trademark narration which is great but somehow this film and the way Herzog approached the subject matter feel a little bit hollow. Like Herzog phoned it in.

There are really funny moments like those in the trailer but more often there are moments that feel a bit cheap. For example there is a family interviewed who where victim of being harassed on the internet. People where sending them gruesome pictures of their daughter who died in a car accident. This family is still pretty much damaged by these events. Instead of delving deeper in to why people do such awful things Herzog uses the family for laughs. Maybe this was not his intention but because their story was so minimal we got to see caricatures of who these people are really like. Which feels a bit lazy.

The same goes for some of the other people interviewed. Herzog does his best to get an poetic or thoughtful response but most of the time people just look at him like they don't understand the question. Of course for each of the moments there is a brilliant scene just around the corner. So it's certainly not all bad. But a lot of times certain segments don't really add up or make sense. Like for example the segment about internet on Mars. It seemed a little bit disjointed and not the most coherent story. At these moments luckily Herzog comes in with his fantastic voice and entertaining narration and saves the movie from unraveling.

All in all I found this movie entertaining but not up to the standards of other Herzog movies.

Herzog's latest documentary

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 20 April 2017]

LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD is the latest documentary work from Werner Herzog, one of my favourite directors of all time. This isn't quite as good as his other documentaries although fans will be well pleased by the choice of material. Herzog's production is typically reverent; the director contributes his trademark softly-spoken narration and there are some good visuals and music throughout.

The theme this time around is the Internet, although the narrative structure is broken down into smaller chapters, or vignettes, exploring various aspects of the Internet that interest the director. Therefore we meet a grieving family whose life has been ruined by tragedy and subsequent cyber-bullying, and a group of woodland recluses who claim that wireless technology makes them sick. Individually, all of the stories are interesting, although I prefer the director's work that concentrates on a single subject matter at greater depth, such as GRIZZLY MAN.

What is the Internet?

[ian_bolton · 7/10 · 20 October 2016]

I watched this still not knowing what the internet was. I've seen friends talk about it, or my brother bought a TV from the Internet once, but this film was really fascinating. It was fascinating how Herzog portrayed all sides of this massive electronic thing - from the dark side, of how a family were abused through the internet or even how internet sends out signals through your hi-fi and can send you crazy. I didn't even know you could connect to the internet using dangerous hi-fi signals, but you can. I really loved how Herzog looked into how it will evolve, and admittedly nobody really knew, but Elon Musk is going to get the internet onto Mars soon. Like who will need eBay on Mars, duuurrrr!!!

Anyway, this film was really good.

Werner at his best

[JordanSatmary · 9/10 · 26 January 2016]

I was lucky to see this at Sundance with one of the best audiences.

Somehow, even after Werner's extensive resume, this was his most immersive and informative documentary yet.

The film doesn't just touch on the basic history and fundamentals of the Internet, but provides such a deep understanding of its past, present, and future. It dives into the wonders of what is possible while carefully reminding us about its dangers, all while Werner gives a very comedic voice-over.

It's a shame that Roger Ebert isn't around to view this film. I know he would've been proud of his friend for creating such an accomplishment in documentary filmmaking.

Herzog tackles the subject of the internet with both excited fascination and trepidation

[tomgillespie2002 · 7/10 · 9 January 2018]

With Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, director Werner Herzog continues his investigations into the nature of man and our influence on the planet. Having spent most of his earlier career exploring the nature of madness and the limits of the human mind with feature films often starring Klaus Kinski, Herzog's career of late has seen him focus primarily on documentaries, and there is perhaps no other filmmaker more naturally suited to the genre. Lo and Behold tells the story of the internet, from its humble birth in a seemingly forgotten office at UCLA, to its recent explosion and rapidly widespread use throughout the world, and Herzog tackles the subject with both excited fascination and trepidation.

Herzog, as usual, plays the role of the viewer, actively participating in conversation with his interviewees. He often interrupts to confirm his understanding, or to offer his own unique philosophical musings. This may come across as distracting to anyone less than familiar with the filmmaker's output, but for us Herzog loyalists, his willingness to vocalise his own feelings or provide idiosyncratic observations throughout the documentary is precisely what makes his films such a joy. His subjects appear to instantly warm to him too, allowing them to relax and open up more, with the helmer only too happy to try and catch them off guard if they veer away from the subject. As one interviewee (who is in an internet rehab facility to cure his addiction to gaming and porn) gleefully bounds across a rickety wooden bridge to greet the camera, Herzog chuckles to himself and states that no further introduction is necessary.

Although the documentary does occasionally ramble, Herzog doesn't allow his own personality to eclipse the subject at hand. He concerns himself with society's increasing detachment from one another as we spend more time in front of a computer screen, and ponders whether or not the internet can dream of itself (some of the reactions to this question are priceless). The film also explores the dark side of the net, telling the story of Nikki Catsouras, the young and beautiful girl who was killed in a horrific car accident, only for pictures of her mangled body to surface on the internet. Nikki's father soon started to receive e-mails with the pictures attached, complete with mocking messages that will make your blood boil. Lo and Behold depicts our brave new world as simultaneously exciting, beautiful and utterly terrifying, reaching as far as exploring our inevitable migration into space. It offers insight into everything from robot development, internet usage and dreams, allowing Herzog to further continue his almost alien fascination with both the beauty and horror of humanity.

Amazing survey of the best and the worst of the Internet

[sfdphd · 9/10 · 24 April 2016]

I just saw this film at the SF Film Festival. I thought it was excellent. It was far better than I expected. I am not a tech person and assumed I would not really appreciate the subject matter. I only went to see it because I usually enjoy Herzog films and figured I would give it a chance.

Wow, it kind of blew my mind to see the range of material that was covered. I was quite impressed that he managed to cover such a large canvas and each segment was fascinating. He created 10 segments, each focusing on a different perspective on tech. I really liked the fact that he started from the beginnings of the Internet and interviewed many of the earliest key people involved. This record of their experiences makes the film an invaluable document of history.

I also really liked the fact that he confronted some of the very serious problems that the Internet has created in our world and didn't just focus on the wonderful aspects.

Definitely check out this film, whether you love the Internet or hate it, there is great stuff here to ponder....

No wake-up call when not already aware of Internet's dark sides. Topics loosely related to contemporary issues don't delve deep, albeit interesting in their own right

[JvH48 · 7/10 · 10 September 2018]

The mixed, even controversial user reviews that go along with this movie, reflect that some are disappointed because of having expected more deep delving treatments from this film maker, contrary to others who find the presented topics revealing and eye-opening and are happy with the given information. The professional reviews, on the other hand, are overall positive, with no exception, giving rise to the (possibly unfounded) assumption that this writer category is not familiar with the dark sides of Internet, and that the presented material is new to them and thus eye-opening.

For me, having worked in IT all my life, mostly in the field of information security, those dark sides are all in my day's work, regrettably. This movie is not relevant for me to upgrade my knowledge, but rather to welcome a serious attempt to involve the "end user" in all the bad things that can happen. It is very difficult to make the layman (m/f) aware how important these issues are for them, let alone emphasizing how easy it is to fall victim of people up to no good. Awareness is rising, luckily, especially after some recent incidents in 2018 that arose everyone's attention, specialists and non-specialists alike.

The sub-division in chapters is logical. It clarifies where a fresh subject starts, and never becomes artificial. I saw some subjects that have nothing to do with Internet, strictly speaking, like the problems some people have with radiation (conversely, WiFi and 3G/4G have considerably contributed to the growth of Internet, but it really is something else). Unlike many popular media, this movie did not show the dark sides of Internet along the path of sex, drugs, arms trade and similar dubious areas. Rather, a central theme was created out of the unmitigated distribution of embarrassing photos and intimate video's that could better be kept private, as well as hate mail that can have devastating effects on recipients. Along that line of thought, sending nasty e-mails is simplified and anonymized by Internet, and not not need any special hardware or software, so anyone can do it (conversely, the bare truth is that it would also have been possible without Internet).

Nearly all issues brought forward were indeed thought provoking, including guessing what the world would look like after and without Internet, e.g. in a post-apocalypse situation. There were irrelevant exceptions, however, like a scene in the beginning of the movie, showing the room where the Internet was "born". The equipment on display gave rise to nostalgic feelings, for me that is, but does that part of history have some bearing on the Internet as it became after 30 years?? We know the optimistic stories of that time, where self-regulation and self-mitigation was assumed as a matter of course.

As a final observation about the movie's format, several talking heads were introduced but their number was not overwhelming and they all got their speaking chance in several scenes, which allowed us to familiarize ourselves with them and their opinions. Unlike the usual voice-over that is annoying within the average documentary, this time the director himself (I assume) was not in the foreground too much, merely linking the scenes together without becoming too scholarly. He particularly did not try to showcase his knowledge (he himself admitted being ignorant on this subject, which could have served as a universal disclaimer, but I don't doubt his intentions here).

Given my primary reasons to watch this movie, not to extend my knowledge but to welcome any serious attempt to showcase the issues at hand, I conclude that It will make many people aware what's going on, but is bound to disappoint others who expected more solid information.

Worthwhile, fascinating, diverse, and decent!

[Thomas_Dachsel · 9/10 · 5 January 2017]

Watched this on Netflix, as I was fed up with all those documentaries we have on "free" TV. I was not aware that Werner Herzog does such profound documentaries, now I know better. This documentary tackles a lot of interesting, and often hurtful subjects. For once it made me proud of working in the industry and being able to contribute something worthwhile. So much good energy gets wasted, and there is a lot of rubbish on the Internet, but there are also the pearls of human wisdom, and so I encourage everyone to go looking for them, or even better, make their own contributions. This goes to show that you can really make a difference by using the Internet for wonderful applications, like bringing people together, and make them understand our world (and one another) much better. It made me very curious about current developments in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and I sure hope there will be much more progress in the next years.

I don't think that it is really justified to criticize this documentary, as you really cannot do this gigantic subject any justice in such a short amount of time. There could be ten individual movies on just the ten topics in the documentary! Kudos to Mr. Herzog for tackling such a task and staying decent all the way through. I really felt for all the people who suffered the ill effects. Stay strong and feel your own energy, and speak up your own truth. Through the internet, you will be heard.

Uneven but sometimes quite interesting

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 6/10 · 6 February 2022]

Spurred on by loving Grizzly Man when I rewatched it last night, I wanted some more Herzog, so found this in my watchlist and popped it on.

By being a Herzog documentary it's fairly engaging by default, but this is probably one of his lesser ones. It being divided up into chapters is a double edged sword, as less interesting segments will often be followed up by more interesting ones, but it does leave things feeling a little disconnected. They're not all fully tied to a coherent theme, either, or at least not in a strong enough way.

Still, there are good parts to this. I always love Herzog's voiceover and unique take on different subjects, and he always picks good music. But this is the rare Herzog documentary that doesn't quite live up to its potential.

Herzog's worst documentary, just when we need him most

[zelena33 · 4/10 · 12 October 2016]

There are very important, tough questions that need to be asked about where technology is leading us. "Does the internet dream of itself?" is not one of them. This effort from Herzog is a major disappointment but not a surprise, partly because it started out as a corporate promotional video. Also because most of his docs are ostensibly on subjects that aren't that interesting or important on the surface, but he makes them riveting. Here, he's tackling a subject about which everything that can be said, has already been said, except for the hard questions. Is the internet even a net positive thing? Why bother going to Mars? It's getting harder and harder "to make a contribution" (to science, or to society), so what does that mean for us? Soon enough robots will beat Messi at football -- will anyone want to watch that? These questions don't get asked. And these are easy ones that came up anyway.

Herzog, who is a known non-tech guy, just seems ignorant and uninterested in technology, both the good and the bad of it. And we need him to pry forcefully into the moral morass that it's dragging us into. But he can't. He's just a baby boomer who is completely immersed in his real- world occupation that doesn't involve surfing the internet. He doesn't know, doesn't care. So unfortunately, he has gathered the most maddeningly thick-headed "scientific experts" to make bland, vapid observations about how amazing it all is. This is a huge disappointment. Werner is just not the man for this job -- so he's moved on to something more up his alley; volcanoes...

Glorification of stupidity

[ersbel · 12 August 2017]

I have seen Werner's name and jumped on it. Wow! Must see it.

Minute after minute it becomes more painful. An exercise in ignorance, a glorification of stupidity. Back in the late 1970s there was no Internet, only ArpaNET. Yet the director and his ignorant crowd find the Internet in 1969! And what a wonderful thing! When all your life you have used pen and paper and now, an old man, someone shows you the magic of Skype, sure, it looks magical. But when you look at the protocols of the Internet, how they were built, how they were simply a way some bearded geeks made computers actually talk in English words between them, it becomes scary. No encryption. No privacy. Not because the ones designing the internet ever cared about privacy. That was way beyond their ability. The broken email protocol in which anybody can inject emails and pretend to be someone else. All the identifying bits. The lack of certification, because they all knew each other. A mess. A disgusting mess that even today seems impossible to fix. Yet it remains the only option simply because nobody has the resources to start a second project.

And all are competing in who can be more ignorant. Did you know that on the Space Station one module communicates with another module on the Space Station through the Internet? The people inside might suffocate because some security cameras are trying to download the latest Xmen movie. Lawrence Krauss, the specialist into the Origins of the Universe. Actually a clown specializing in talking for big sums of money. Did he program something for the Internet? He is a physicist. Was Internet started in his University lab? Nothing at all. He is there to talk about "will it have its own consciousness?" He has no idea. But he has enough fans that he was inserted to help the box office.

Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

A Different Look at the Future

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 4 January 2017]

Werner Herzog's exploration of the Internet and the connected world.

My expectation was that this film would explore the development of the Internet and a bit about how it works and has expanded. To an extent, this is accurate. We get a look at the birthplace of the Internet, and we see plenty of stories about the world of computing, especially hacking (both from cyber threats and from trophy-hunters like Kevin Mitnick).

But we go way beyond that. I am disappointed that we don't explore the Internet more, but Herzog makes up for this by exploring other loosely connected ideas. Space travel to Mars, for one. He also talks with people who have an intense sensitivity to electro-magnetic fields. The most bizarre segment involves a family who was apparently attacked over the death of their daughter. Herzog makes the family look a bit crazy, and this isn't helped by the mother's claim that the Internet is the Anti-Christ, a view that clearly demonstrates she is mentally unstable.

Great Satire

[thethinkingpal · 8/10 · 3 October 2022]

As a computer engineer and researcher, I can say this is the most interesting satire I've ever seen. I've watched it several times. The way Herzog merges science and fiction, in a very serious fashion is unbelievable.

He plays with history and time. Featuring prominent people, makes it look more real and "scientific". You have to watch it too closely and with enough background knowledge in order to see it as a comedy rather than a documentary. A very nuanced comedy. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a comment or review that approaches the movie this way.

Don't believe everything you see on the Internet.

An awesome documentary and a humorous tale of Science fact

[subxerogravity · 8/10 · 23 August 2016]

I loved this movie.

Werner Harzog created a humorous and insightful documentary, about the internet, from it's birthplace to the possibilities of were it will take human evolution.

It's a very raw documentary on the subject. it feels like Harzog is not taking the more popular road with the story of the internet. Though he does interview key people in the growth of it, it's interesting that people like Mark Zukerberg are not interview. It's the basics of what the internet can do for man kind, which is possibly why he choose to interview a company that created a game that allows people to learn how to manipulate DNA and see those results be created in real life, to possibly better mankind's knowledge (the original purpose of the internet)

Elon Musk is possibly the most mainstream name that appears in the film as Harzog uses him to take a look at the possibilities of using the internet on other planets, as the creator of PayPal uses his private space company to give insight.

The film also goes over some people who the internet has not effected well, from a loved one's death going viral, to people who have become physically ill do how the use of the internet has change the world.

Harzog masterfully takes the content seriously with positive and negative feed back on the internet going from the every day mundane to the rarely far fetch. I love how straight up the whole thing is and how Harzog's voice over makes it feel like a futuristic Science fiction tale about how the internet and robots fit into human evolution (which is what it its) I only seen two of Harzog's documentaries, the other being the Cave of Forgotten Dreams and from seeing these two I got to say he knows how to keep my interest in his recording of science.

Excellent work!

http://cinemagardens.com

Big disappointment

[me-justaman · 2/10 · 26 September 2016]

This director acquired a large following over the years. He's got some great movies in his resume, and a couple of real turds as well. Since he switched to documentary film making, he has found his own style that stands out by a personable narration, the use of music, and a often unique and poetic point of view.

I quickly checked his recent work before: it looked like he has been giving "master classes" in theaters over the US (mostly rants and criticizing the world comfortably) and making some short movies (mostly self indulgent essays with no depth). But I was looking forward to this latest "effort" as I really loved his other feature length documentaries.

But this film is a complete waste of time for the viewer. Its 10 segments feel like a very first draft hastily put together and that would need tons of work and reflection before being worthy of any presentation to an audience.

It made me feel like the homework of a teenager for school. It is completely vapid, lazily put together, and often insulting for your intelligence. After wasting 1h40 watching this empty balloon unfold nowhere, the title becomes so pompous and pretentious. I was left angry for wasting my attention on this.

It looks like this director is now living off his followers. He maybe thinks that anything he does will be appreciated by his fans who will find him cool and "unconventional" no matter what. But this film is simply not good, and really day-TV program level.

Still, many of the people who are being interviewed in the film are fascinating and beautiful. You would like to see a competent artist and thinker take on this excellent subject.

So in one word: VAPID.

Cringy style of filming

[cfx-25984 · 30 December 2016]

Though the movie definitely is interesting and the story makes sense, I just had to write a review to let people know that this has to be the most cringe worthy style of interviewing people for a documentary I have ever seen. The interviewer manages to make almost all of the interviewees uncomfortable by either his camera placement or the questions he asks. It's painful to watch at some points. Apparently I didn't write enough yet so to add to this: I thought it was interesting that he also interviewed people with different views of the internet and didn't only approach the technical aspects of it. I would still recommend people to watch it as the information displayed is valuable.

dreams of the Internet

[dromasca · 8/10 · 11 February 2017]

My relation with German director Werner Herzog and his films is dating back about four decades. Sometime in the 70s I attended a 'festival of West German film' which I do not know how escaped the censorship filters in my native Romania. That week I saw several of the films of filmmakers in the generation representing the 'New German Film "which became one of the most interesting trends of the 70s in international cinema. Of all movies the strongest impression made to me 'Aguirre, the Wrath of Gods' - a historical drama set in the period of the 'Conquista' - the Spanish colonization of South America - starring Klaus Kinski, an extraordinary actor. The name the movie director was Werner Herzog was.

The career of the film-maker which once was called by Francois Truffaut "the most important film director alive" has had many ups and downs. Part of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's generation, together with Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff and Wim Wenders his interests and artistic endeavors diversified after the 80s. Documentaries seems to be the area that gave the most rewards and enjoyed appreciation lately. His most recent film in this category 'Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World' is the history, present and future of the Internet. A subject that of course intrigued me allowing a unique encounter between my passion for cinema and one of the most interesting filmmakers of the movie industry, and my profession (and life passion) - the Internet.

The ten episodes of the film treat in somewhat chronological order the beginnings of the Internet, its achievements and problems, and its future with opportunities and risks. The first short episode aroused interest and created nostalgia of those who lived the era of the beginnings of communications between computers, or - like me - had the opportunity to personally meet some of the heroes of those times. Leonard Kleinrock is one of those who attended the first attempt to establish communication between computers located in the Californian universities in Los Angeles and Stanford. The electrical cabinet (actually a computer with a tiny computing power compared to any mobile phone today, but a peak of technology in the late 60s) that initiated the communication in the episode described in the film was trying to send word 'log' (to login) to the remote machine. However, the first message ever sent over the Internet encountered first 'bug' on the Internet, and caused the first 'crash', so that the third letter of the word, a 'g' never appeared on the other side. It's just that 'lo' from the beginning of the movie title that offers the chance of a play of words in English using the expression 'lo and behold' which means surprise event that we might call in today's hi-tech language as 'disrupting '.

Each of the other nine segments addresses from different perspectives the relationship between information technology and communications in the world we live today or or the world of the future. There are for example segments about artificial intelligence and its applications in intelligent transports, the Web's beginnings and development prospects of hypertext communications, about Internet safety and the unbearable easy security attacks, about the connection between electronic games and smart development programs. Several other topics were abandoned during production, for example those related to electronic payments and currency Bitcoin, although someday footage may appear and be made public. Known personalities including Bob Kahn, Elon Musk and Tim Berners-Lee appear in the film. Some episodes are more pessimistic and discuss the dangers and threats introduced by the Internet - impressive being the one about the family photos decrying the child died in an accident traffic incident are made public with a typical lack of discretion and sensitivity in communications unfortunately so prevalent on the Internet. Not all episodes are directly related to the Internet - for example the phenomenon of sensitivity to electromagnetic waves is known, studied and treated in different ways (the one shown in the movie is just one option) but it is not directly linked to the global network but rather to radio communications . We meet on this occasion with one of those folks belonging to an anarchist community that tries to live in social islands unconnected to the global network. The interviewing techniques used by Werner Herzog mostly include asking from off (we never see his face face) questions with German calm and precision (underlined by his accent), but he obviously guided interlocutors and created the glue and thread of reasoning developed in the film.

Werner Herzog's interest in the Internet and technology is recent. Until a few years ago, Herzog could be considered a 'techno-skeptic' and its attitude toward certain Internet applications such as social media was clearly negative. Things have changed by the time he approached the project but the humanistic view of his questions are trenchant and come from unexpected directions, with a dose of caution and even pessimism about the interaction between human nature and technology These remain the traits that distinguish this film which is addressing in a different way than we are accustomed the Internet and mass communications.

Addressing the theme of 'Dreams' and showing the combination of Internet and artificial intelligence as one of the directions the most promising technology, but also of the most intriguing and perhaps even dangerous of the possible routes in the future, Herzog places himself in the vanguard technology.Will the Internet become (together with entities equipped with artificial intelligence) completely autonomous? And after this happens - the problem only when - what will be the difference between the perfect thinking machines and the imperfect individuals that make up mankind? The ability to dream? Love? Can robots dream or fall in love? What about the Internet?

A flawless documentary about our times

[artmania90 · 10/10 · 1 February 2017]

WERNER HERZOG is a world class director who seems to keep his projects revolving around the constant thought of dreams. What could have been, what will happen, what are we thinking, and ultimately who are we? To make a documentary about the Internet, which would seem so rooted in science, and then use it to explore humanity and all our flaws and desires, made for a movie that is both eye-opening and reflective. For Herzog, I would expect nothing less, but the documentary still surprised me in more ways that one.

It's a slow-churning story told in 10 chapters. The familiar voice of Werner himself narrates the action, through interviews and questions that attempt no less than to determine the progress of humanity with the dawn of the technological age; the age in which we are all connected and information is both limitless and ever-growing.

In a small room in a science classroom in California, the very Internet was born in the 1960's, and the first transmitted message "LOG" was cut off midway through. As one man explains, the importance and simplicity of that first message ("lo and behold what man has achieved") is the thesis on which Herzog explores the topics. We see how information grew, how newspapers were first programmed for people to view on their home computers, how emails began to document business needs at almost instantaneous speeds. What a marvel, indeed.

Smartly, Herzog also explores the darker shades of our brilliance: of hate mail and the lawlessness of the online community. From hackers to a family who received spam emails of their daughter's mangled body, nearly decapitated in a car wreck... The tapestries of any invention are countless, but as the documentary begins to explore, no man made invention in history has ever grown at such an exponential rate. A wide-eyed woman with a Stepford Wife's sensibility declares "the Internet is Satan."

In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, Lo And Behold would be a bore of talking heads and the breakdown of important dates and times. Herzog seems to relish the bore, asking his subjects questions that often throw them off ("do you love this robot?"). It's oftentimes quite funny, but when we explore the darker implications just below the surface, it could also be one of the scariest films I have ever viewed. With our reliance on the internet so thoroughly engrossed in our lives, one scientist speculates that potentially billions could die were a large solar flare to wipe out electricity as we know it. Nature give and nature take away, but has humanity moved beyond the point of simple survival without technological help?

With a haunting score that recalls precious Herzog themes, the movie is nonetheless a fascinating and endlessly entertaining journey through modern times, with Herzog's deliciously German accent piercing through the bland images of computers and wires. There seems no better director to tackle this subject matter, and in fact I doubt many other filmmakers could achieve something so remarkable from something so apparently average as the Internet.

I left this movie, looked around, thought about life. There's an existential theme at work which forced me to think about how my life is wholly dependent on machines. They make life easier. I need them for daily support and connectivity. At this point in society, 2016, what is life if not the reliance on technology?

Fantastic documentary that the whole world MUST SEE!

[mista808 · 10/10 · 30 December 2016]

Let's put it this way, I NEVER write reviews about movies/films I watch. However, I had no other choice but to get on here and compliment how amazing this documentary is. I was really depressed yesterday throughout my entire day at work, and just couldn't shake the feeling until I randomly found this on Netflix and decided to watch it. I only turned it on because I needed something to watch for the 10 minutes or so of eating dinner. I ended up watching the entire documentary (about 1.5 hours long) and was left in complete awe. Not only that, I couldn't even get back on my PS4 or play any video games for the rest of the night because of this film. It truly makes you think about things that you've probably never thought about before.

I've watched hundreds of documentaries over the years and this is by far the most fascinating documentary I have ever watched.

I recommend this film for the ENTIRE WORLD!

You won't be disappointed.

Not Werner's best outing

[Neil_Durrant · 5/10 · 6 February 2018]

This documentary promises to shed light on the history of the internet, especially the time before the invention of the World Wide Web, in 1990. What we get instead is a procession of middle aged kooks pontificating randomly on AI takeover, sun spot events and the end of the world, and the internet being embedded into walls.

The framing of most of the interviews is quite flippant. Normally a WH documentary is irreverent, but fond. Here though the viewer feels like an intruder into the world of a series of out-of-step eccentrics, whom the internet had long since left behind and taken on a life of its own - this being brought painfully into view when the question "does the internet dream of itself"? is raised.

It seems what was intended to be a film about the, mostly undocumented, innocent history of the pre www internet, took on a life of its own as the subjects started rambling about other things. It ended up showing only the wide-eyed naiievety of both Herzog and the interviewees, as they wandered away from their areas of expertise and into what is essentially uninformed futurology.

There was a veteran "Hacker", who "hacked" into this and that, we're told. That he'd done 99% of his "hacking" by calling companies and pretending to be a manager wasn't made clear. A bizarrely posed family who'd had a picture of their daughter that had fatally crashed on a joyride in the father's Porsche published online, told us the devil was in the internet, listing some nasty things that had been emailed to them about their daughter and her death. In the same vein, an apocalyptic prediction by three fervent geeks, who think we're on the edge of a societal collapse caused by solar flares.

All in all, the film misses the mark. If it had been presented a bit differently, I think it would have been a more worthwhile watch, but as it is, it comes across as nothing more than the poking of some Silicon Valley eccentrics with a stick, and seeing what they do.

A series of fascinating, but scattered, interviews

[wavecat13 · 8/10 · 25 February 2019]

A collection of interviews with a wide range of people whose lives are/have been deeply connected to the rise of computer technology and the internet - entrepreneurs, academics, critics, hackers, even people who have to live in isolated areas because of their sensitivity to electromagnetic waves (or something like that.) It does not have much of a center and there is too much ground to cover effectively in a couple of hours, but it is all fascinating to watch and consider.