Tuesday Video: Lessons Of Darkness
German director Werner Herzog is known for strange films about the power of nature. One of his least seen is a short documentary that doesn’t really qualify as a feature-length but it will stay with you for a long time. It’s called "Lessons Of Darkness" (1992) and might be Herzog’s most chilling documentary. He surveys the devastation caused by bombings, sabotage, and oil fires following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and examines the natural state of the land. There’s no central figure or narrative - nobody like Timothy Treadwell in "Grizzly Man" to lead the way. Herzog instead just lets the images of oil tell the story. There’s no timeliness to this clip but it’s his camera will draw you in and that’s Radiohead’s “Like Spinning Plates” providing the music.