Where the Green Ants Dream

Some idiot claims that this movie is horrible but I would argue that this he/she is mistaken. None of the dialog is improvised though the performances are raw which the previous reviewer might be confusing with improvisation. Most fans of Herzog are also aware that Herzog's dialog is highly stylized and often surreal which may, to close minded people, be misconstrued as trite or childish. Perhaps it is something one has to get used to or maybe Herzog films are best left to those who are willing to view something out of the ordinary. Of course, not everyone will like everything, but opinions that are expressed should only come from people who are informed as an uninformed opinion is like showing a dog a card trick.

I also remember this film as life-changing. I saw it at the TIFF many years ago and was baffled by it.

There is a small scene in an elevator that I remember as a transcendent cinematic moment.

Like so many of Herzog's films, it is deeply moving for reasons that aren't easy to put your finger on - often with Herzog it's an odd juxtaposition, an awkward silence, a strange edit, an inappropriate flash of humour or horror that produce a flash of insight.

This film, at the time, seemed conventional by Herzog's standards, but I still left the theatre feeling slightly drugged, always a good sign.

I hadn't thought that Herzog was capable of making a good film without Kinski, only some pretentious artsy thing like Heart of Glass.

Well, Green Ants proves me wrong. This is a great film that shows the conflict between white and aboriginal civilizations without being sentimental or condescending to either side. With Hollywood we'd some cliché about noble savages and suchlike, but here you get the feeling of dealing with real human beings.

Oh yeah, the plot deals with an Australian mining company that wants to blow up a sacred site to do mineral exploitation. Herzog avoids stereotyped poses to bring out the situation as it would occur in real life. Plus you get some great shots of the outback.

I plan to lend this one to all my aboriginal friends!

I would classify this movie as being Herzog's most mainstream (which I know isn't saying that much), but still, for a movie that takes place in possibly the most minimalist setting (a stretch of land on the Australian outback littered with the remains of drilling for minerals) I found it absolutely engrossing. This is the movie: A group of aborigines refuse to budge from a small strip of land when a mining company wants to occupy it for drilling purposes; their reason: `This is the land where the green ants dream'. When one of the aborigines is asked why they will not budge even after offered a lucrative settlement, he responds, `How would you like it if someone drove a bulldozer over your church.' Immediately I knew this movie would work. It is a very good film, possibly one of the most finely put together movies I can think of. Rather than being an all and out movie that puts down imperialism, civilization, and national need to exploit resources.it raises some interesting questions about ownership and the present destruction of ancient civilizations. My one fault with the movie is that you know when Herzog is setting things up for an awe-inspired moment, and it does get a little dry toward the end, but still a grand achievement.

The geologist Lance Hackett is employed by an Australian mining company to map the subsoil of a desert area covered with ant hills prior to a possible uranium extraction. His work is impeded by some aborigines who explain that this is the place where the green ants dream.

Werner Herzog makes great films, and he is quite prolific in what he does. His career sees to be divided between unusual drama and documentaries of different cultures. This film, perhaps more than any other of his work, really blends the two. While not a documentary, it really tries to celebrate aborigine culture.

Of all the films based in Australia, this is one of the better ones. It may not be reality, but it is in some ways better than reality. Herzog creates a world that is completely believable.