Werner Herzog: “Life should not be dictated by algorithms”

BarcelonaWith an early morning rain that has cooled the day, the San Sebastian Festival has kicked off this Friday, which in its first day features as a protagonist one of the own names of this edition: the German filmmaker Werner Herzog, who comes to the festival to present his new film, the eccentric and fun Family Romance, LLC, but also to receive the first Donostia Award of this edition –the second will be for Naomi Watts–. A more than fair recognition in the formidable trajectory of a giant of European cinema. For the director of Fitzcarraldo, however, winning awards does not make him look back. “I am not interested; there is still work to be done –he asserts–. I am focused on the present. In fact, I have almost finished my next film; I only have three days left. And I am working on two books. But I am not a workaholic. My working days are short, and so are the shooting ones: we usually finish at 3:30 PM or 4:00 PM”.

Listening live to the raspy voice of Werner Herzog is a strangely relaxing experience for fans of his documentaries, which he usually narrates himself with a characteristic intonation and English with a strong German accent, and in which, rather than pronouncing the words, he cuts them with machete blows. This is how he explained how Family Romance, LLC was born, which follows the story of two sisters with synchronized speech and emotions (also sisters Kate and Rooney Mara) who feel an almost obsessive love for their neighbor (Orlando Bloom). “A long time ago I met twin sisters who spoke in unison and I wanted to make a film about them, but the project fell through –recalls the director–. Many years and thirty films later, I took up the idea again and I found Kate and Rooney, who are magnificent actresses and were willing to undertake this very difficult task”.

As Herzog says, in Family Romance, LLC “there are poetic elements and it does not have the narrative structure of a Hollywood film”. Not in vain, as announced at the beginning, the film is dedicated to David Lynch. The real story does not matter to the director, and the film constantly mutates: from a judicial comedy to a reflection on difference and, ultimately, on the existential search. “It is an invented story, like all the films I make. Even my documentaries are fiction films disguised as documentaries. They have their casting and invented parts –says the director, who boasts of having written the script in five days–. I see the film as if I were a spectator in a cinema, so I just copy what I see –he assures–. I am not interested in the development of the characters or the story, nor the three acts, so I write quickly. In fact, it did not take me five days but two and a half, because I had to do my taxes and other things”.

Orlando Bloom, who has also traveled to San Sebastian and who was chosen to present Herzog with the Donostia Award at the inaugural gala, has praised the German filmmaker's refusal to “judge his characters and offer easy answers”. Regarding the weight that the gaze of others has on oneself, the actor reflected on the importance of having people around him who keep him grounded. “You cannot create characters without living them for real or without being part of the world –says the actor–. It is a challenge for people with high visibility, but it is essential for creative work”. Herzog, with Bloom by his side, did not stop praising the actor: “You keep yourself in exceptional shape. I like actors who are comfortable with their body. And you have left behind the youthful look with which you became world-famous. You are doing different roles and it is a very interesting transition. I don't intend to lose sight of your work; I have the feeling that the years will test you”.

"Do I seem like an obsessive man to you?"

At 84 years old, Herzog is no longer that force of nature who walked 800 km in the middle of winter or dragged ships through the jungle, but he still intimidates when he slightly raises his tone of voice to interrupt a journalist's question about his “obsession” with filming Family Romance, LLC. “Do I seem like an obsessive man to you? –he snaps with a smile that eases some of the discomfort–. Look, if you are an obsessive director, actors won't want anything to do with you and producers will run away. You will even have to run away from yourself, so no, I am not obsessive. Period”. A filmmaker without constraints, Herzog has warned about the importance of staying “alert” in a world “that is beginning to usurp our souls”. “We must defend ourselves against this invasion from the outside. And I want to be very clear, especially with young people who spend the day looking at their mobile phones: life should not be dictated by algorithms that want to capture our attention”.