This is an offbeat and provoking film regarding the notorious craftsman of a small village carrying out glassworks and dying suddenly without revealing the secret to the known "Ruby Glass". This small village is renowned for its "Ruby Glass" glass blowing works but things go wrong when the main foreman dies without transmit his craft wisdom . The little town slides into a deep crisis , and the owner of the glassworks becomes obsessed with the lost secret asking for help a wise man . At the village a mysterious young (Josef Bierbichler) appears telling weird prophecies about a sad future of the people .
Herzog's film is based upon the true and mysterious story of the creators of a brilliant crystal , it stars a rare prophet , a very strange and fantastic character well played by Josef Bierbichler . Concerning the deep distresses happen when the foreman of glassworks dies suddenly without revealing the secret of the Ruby Glass creating a real depression and sadness at the village , then showing up a bizarre chracter named "Hias" -legendary Nostradamus lookalike- who is actually based on a Bavarian prophet called Mühlhias. A movie that shares with ¨Aguirre Wrath of God¨ and ¨Kaspar Hauser¨ a fascination with rare and outlandish roles . Not the same dizzy folly as Aguirre , but Herzog´s similarly long perspective conjures as a brooding and thought-provoking film of man's aimless tracks throughout a society in crisis . Josef Bierbichler provides a decent as well as agreeable acting as the mysterious young with unknown past . Accompanied by ordinary actors from Herzog factory as Clemens Scheitz and Volker Prechtel. However , most actors were really hypnotized by Werner Herzog himself and play under hypnosis on big screen.
It contains hypnotic , colorful and luxurious cinematography by Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein , Herzog's regular , being shot on various location in Monument Valley, Utah, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Niagara Falls, New York, Alaska, USA , Skellig Michael, County Kerry, Skellig Rocks, County Kerry, Ireland , Frauenaus bei Zwiesel, Bavarian Forest, Bavaria, Germany , Pischelsdorf bei Arnstorf, Bavaria,Walchsing Castle, Bavaria, and Switzerland . Accompanying a fascinating and riveting musical score by Popol Vuh . The motion picture was competently directed by Werner Herzog . Including some landmarks , as containing long, extended landscape shots . This great German director Herzog has made thoughtful and interesting films , such as : "Fata Morgana" , "Aguirre Wrath of God" , "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser", "Heart of Glass" , "Stroszek", "Woyzeck" , "Nosferatu the Vampire", "Where the Green Ants Dream" , "Cobra Verde" ,"Lessons in Darkness", "My Dearest Enemy", "Invincible" , "The White Diamond", "Grizzly Man", "Rescue Dawn" , among others . Rating : 6.5/10 , acceptable and passable but extremely slow-moving and a little bit boring . The flick will appeal to Werner Herzog followers.
