MisterWhiplash Already at the age of 25 or 26, at the same time as he was crafting his first film as a writer and director, Werner Herzog had a firm grip on how his worldview could be represented on film: absurd, sad, apocalyptic to a degree, but also full of the repetition of poetry (or the poetry of repetition, you pick), plus a story that is both insane and funny and delightful. Also, musical interludes that are lively, soulful and grab your attention.This is just a 12 minute film, but in it we get the story of a man who was the last one on an island that had been plagued by lepers. At least, that's as far as I can figure out. The information we get is in pseud-documentary (this is probably when that was only getting started so I'm sure Herzog was ahead of the curve on that), and people being 'interviewed' repeat their responses. Why do they do this? I think it can come down to sounding almost like a prayer in information form, like we are discovering this story as a call of confusion and anguish and even indifference (which is perfectly ironic for a prayer). Or it's simply that having people repeat things puts one in a kind of trance (Herzog loved himself, maybe still does, hypnosis as can be seen in Heart of Glass and Invincible), and it may be as much or more for the actors than for the audience. These people don't seem to be 'actors' in the professional sense; he likely found these people on the island or by the coastline - certainly the musicians, who seem so authentic as to not be from anywhere else - and it lends everything a sense of 'huh, so... what's the deal with these people, and the lepers, and why is this guy describing that lepers have a "distinct sex life?" It's all mad and off-kilter and maybe unsettling. It's a fully- formed artist at a young age knocking something off quickly while doing his first big work. What a man!

Michael_Elliott Last Words (1967) ** (out of 4) Another Werner Herzog short, this one I'm guessing was meant to be some sort of spoof about people and their last words but none of it is all that funny.Herakles (1960) ** (out of 4) Werner Herzog's first film is about a young man who works out hoping to become very muscular one day. Nothing too interesting here.Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreutz, The (1966) ** (out of 4) Herzog spoof of war and soldiers and the thoughts that creep into ones mind. There are a few funny jokes but again, nothing too interesting.Precautions About Fanatics (1969) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Herzog short is just one running gag about a fanatic at a race horse. A few laughs.

dbborroughs Documentary style story of a man who is rescued from an island that once housed a leper colony and how he's better for it even if he won't talk to anyone as a result.Surreal and often very funny, thanks to the constant repetition of the lines of dialog. This is the place where you really can see the Herzog style coming into being. There is wonderful local music, portrait like shots of the characters and haunting images of the landscape. Like the rest of the early Werner Herzog films I watched in this sitting its more a sketch than a real film, but at the same time its a pretty good sketch.Worth a look

Nestor-13 The short is shot in B&W and is a very surreal film. Set on a greek island this short doesnt have a plot but rather follows like a documentary the tragik story of an old man who withdraws himself of the life on the island. It is told by the residents of the Island. In their Interviews they repeat their sentences over and over again. The Island is probably the last place in the world, its people are the last and the old man is the last of them...Quiet melancholy but dam good!