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kinski my best fiend | Year: 1999 Directed: - Werner Herzog Actors/Actresses: - Werner Herzog - Klaus Kinski A Legendary Collaboration that Now Seems Almost Inevitable "My Best Fiend" is the story of a tumultuous relationship between actor Klaus Kinski and director Werner Herzog. The story is told primarily through reflections on the creation of two major films: "Aguirre, The Wrath of God" and "Fitzcarraldo". In addition, brief anecdotes also describe their work on "Woyzeck", "Nosferatu" and "Cobra Verde" as well. The film begins with documentation of Kinski portraying Jesus during a solo theatrical tour of Germany. Kinski's Christ was not the Jesus "of the official church, who the police, bankers, judges, hangmen, politicians and other powerful people tolerate". Kinski's portrayal of Jesus shows him to be a man of intense [ possibly bordering on megalomaniac ] anger and indignation. This strident emotional disposition seems to be one of the major themes of the entire film. Reflections by Herzog on the two meeting during their teenage years in Munich leads to a discussion of the filming of "Aguirre", which directly followed Kinski's Jesus tour. Here one can see that Herzog and Kinski complimented each other through a kind of symbiosis of necessity. Herzog provided a context for Kinski in which he could best reveal his mad, obsessive personality to greatest emotional effect on film. Also, as one can see from the "Fitzcarraldo" audition footage featuring Mick Jagger as the lead, Herzog needed Kinski to best realize his unique vision for these stark films of monumental suggestive metaphor. Indeed, in the way that the documentary portrays these two men, one can scarcely doubt that they were soul mates of a very high, though intensely maddening, order. It is now hard to imagine one man without the other. Which is why this film, that was perhaps a labor of both love and obsession for Mr. Herzog, is so captivating. Deep and real issues of meaning were addressed by their collaborations, that still echo strongly down into the present day. I Miss Klaus Kinski Too German film director Werner Herzog and the late international film star, Klaus Kinski, had a deep love-hate relationship with one another. As artists, this fueled their work together and they will both be remembered primarily for their joint film efforts. Indeed, throughout the documentary made by Herzog, the one still alive, he seems to be lacking half of himself when he is onscreen. He also seems to be as much trying to reclaim the best parts of himself as much as he is trying to come to final terms with his relationship with Kinski. Unfortunately, those best parts probably died with Kinski. Each man believed the other one was mad and a megalomaniac. Certainly neither man was like a "normal" person if you recall their film work together, all of it superb but obsessed. Every time Kinski's face comes onto the screen in the documentary, I remembered how beautiful or ugly he could make himself appear. His face is one artists everywhere would love to paint, draw, sculpt... whatever. That people were drawn to him and repelled by him off-camera, in equal measure, should really come as no surprise. That he could embody both characteristics within seconds of one another before the camera defined his brilliance as an actor. I think Kinski got the better end of the deal. He lived life exactly under his own terms for 56 years and then died, apparently of natural causes, totally spent. It was probably like a regular person's living to be 100! Herzog, however, is left to go on and it is clear that he is not the artist he once was without his muse, his best fiend, Kinski. This was an absolutely fascinating film and I highly recommend it. Conflict is good The title's play on words pretty much sums up the sentiment of the film. Herzog's depiction of his relationship with Kinski is painfully honest, but it is not hard to see the affection mingled with the frustration. Kinski was a mad man and nearly impossible to work with. And yet Herzog chose to work with him again and again, and with great results. This film is a tribute to their contentious and productive relationship. There are some really funny stories here, including one where Herzog actually threatened to kill Kinski. Some may have heard of this spat, but it is still interesting to hear Herzog's dead-pan account. Very honest, very informative, very entertaining documentary about a very complex relationship. It goes beyond friendship. It just had to be, whether either of them wanted it or not. Buy Kinski My Best Fiend at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Kinski My Best Fiend Search with the Priority Search Engine on Kinski My Best Fiend This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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