I think it wouldn't be unfair to describe The White Diamond as a fairly minor Werner Herzog documentary. The great German has made several truly excellent ones of course and while this one is still good by general standards, it definitely doesn't add up to as much as his better work in this field. Like many of his films, documentary or fiction, this one focuses on an obsessive eccentric, in this case Dr. Graham Dorrington who is a designer of experimental aircraft. We follow him as he attempts to get his new invention, a small mobile air balloon called the White Diamond, to navigate over the jungle canopy in Guyana and allow for the examination of this largely unexplored natural world.
The narrative is underpinned by not only a dream but also a past nightmare. In 1992 Dorrington was involved in an expedition where the film-maker Dieter Plage was killed while flying one of his airships over a jungle in Sumatra. This event clearly still haunts Dorrington even ten years later and adds a layer of dread to the undertaking we watch unfold in Guyana. The scene where he recounts the events that led to Plage's death are haunting and hard to forget and do add some depth to proceedings. But the film is probably best when it focuses on the beauties and dangers of the Amazon jungle. Herzog has always had an ability at capturing nature in unusual, yet spectacular ways and here is no different with amazing footage of a massive waterfall and close-up shots of the almost alien-like creatures of the rainforest. Despite being quite a typical Herzogian character Dorrington is less eccentric than usual, the other key character is a local Rastafarian called Marc Anthony who assists with the expedition; while his diversions on topics such as healing plants, his lost family in Spain and his pet rooster all add colour, they also feel slightly like padding to a certain extent. The documentary as a whole is pretty unstructured and doesn't really have a proper ending in many ways so it does feel like a Herzog film which went with an interesting idea which ultimately didn't play itself out as was probably hoped. I do have to say that while I am being a bit critical it is only because Herzog is such a good film-maker and this one had the potential for more. Nevertheless, there is still much to appreciate here and while the sum of parts are greater than the whole; there are still many moments of genuine interest to be found. Despite a few drawbacks this still remains a film definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of Herzog's unique style.
The narrative is underpinned by not only a dream but also a past nightmare. In 1992 Dorrington was involved in an expedition where the film-maker Dieter Plage was killed while flying one of his airships over a jungle in Sumatra. This event clearly still haunts Dorrington even ten years later and adds a layer of dread to the undertaking we watch unfold in Guyana. The scene where he recounts the events that led to Plage's death are haunting and hard to forget and do add some depth to proceedings. But the film is probably best when it focuses on the beauties and dangers of the Amazon jungle. Herzog has always had an ability at capturing nature in unusual, yet spectacular ways and here is no different with amazing footage of a massive waterfall and close-up shots of the almost alien-like creatures of the rainforest. Despite being quite a typical Herzogian character Dorrington is less eccentric than usual, the other key character is a local Rastafarian called Marc Anthony who assists with the expedition; while his diversions on topics such as healing plants, his lost family in Spain and his pet rooster all add colour, they also feel slightly like padding to a certain extent. The documentary as a whole is pretty unstructured and doesn't really have a proper ending in many ways so it does feel like a Herzog film which went with an interesting idea which ultimately didn't play itself out as was probably hoped. I do have to say that while I am being a bit critical it is only because Herzog is such a good film-maker and this one had the potential for more. Nevertheless, there is still much to appreciate here and while the sum of parts are greater than the whole; there are still many moments of genuine interest to be found. Despite a few drawbacks this still remains a film definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of Herzog's unique style.