edshu33 Review of Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)

Meditations Concerning the Condition of Human Dignity

[20 April 2013]

Spoiler Alert! In this film, Werner Herzog eats his shoe. Sort of. The act of eating is never depicted itself, instead brief clips from The Gold Rush are used whenever he takes a bite. This isn't just a goofy comic gimmick, though. Despite its non-serious tone, the film is actually really philosophical. It deals with Herzog himself better than any film I've seen so far, and it really lets you into his psyche. At one point, Herzog insists that being a filmmaker has transformed him into a "clown", and this film makes a pretty compelling case for his argument (which has only become more relevant in recent years as we watch Herzog's public image descend into a trench of self-parody on the internet). He describes one incident when he threw himself into a cactus as fulfillment of a comment he made when little people were catching on fire, which is almost a three stooges-esque act of physical comedy. Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe also makes Herzog's intentions quite clear. Anyone who knows anything about the making of Aguirre, The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo will realize that he's willing to make other suffer for his art, but this film proves that he is willing to suffer too. He claims that the promise to eat his shoe is what inspired his friend to make a film, and this may or may not be an exaggeration, but the point is that Herzog is totally willing to do anything for the sake of film, even when it means inflicting physical pain upon himself and others. Sure, this is a funny movie built around an absurd premise, but I think there's also a really deep layer of deconstruction beneath the surface value. Is it a comedy, tragedy, or cultural relic? That is the question asked to the viewer, and only one's natural response can define the answer.