Lessons of Darkness

Name: Lektionen in Finsternis
Genre: Documentary, War
Released: 2002-10-26
Duration: 54 min
Rating: 8
Cast: Werner Herzog

Original title: Lektionen in Finsternis

TV Movie
1992
Not Rated
54m

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

6.3K

YOUR RATING

Documentary War

This film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that ... Read allThis film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.This film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.

See production, box office & company info

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

6.3K

YOUR RATING

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Photos13

Trivia
Director Werner Herzog cheerfully admitted that the quote at the beginning of the film, allegedly by Pascal, was completely made up and falsely attributed to give it more weight.

Quotes
Narrator: Two figures are approaching an oil well. One of them holds a lighted torch. What are they up to? Are they going to rekindle the blaze? Is life without fire become unbearable for them?... Others, seized by madness, follow suit. Now they are content. Now there is something to extinguish again.

Connections
Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #7.3 (1994)

Soundtracks
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (Death of Aase)
Written by Edvard Grieg

User reviews36

Review

Featured review

8/10

Powerful images

Werner Herzog narrates sparingly from an alien's perspective, but for the most part lets the images do the talking themselves. And yes, there are some pretty powerful images contained within this 50 minute documentary.

This is a pretty typical Herzog documentary, which if you aren't familiar with him, that means it's a pretty slow paced film. But the images are so great, if you let yourself get caught up in them, I don't see the slow pacing to be a problem. Herzog always says he's looking for "ecstatic truth" in his films. I think he achieved that with this one.

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