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A Haunting, Memorable Film with An Amazing Performance by Ki

Joshua Miller | Coeur d'Alene,ID | 04/28/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Woyzeck marks the fourth collaboration between director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski and is Herzog's adaptation of George Büchner's unfinished play. I'm not familiar with the play, but I am familiar with Kinski and Herzog and recently re-visited Aguirre, the Wrath of God, which is now one of my favorite films. Woyzeck is a much different film from that one, with a performance that is similar yet couldn't be more different. I'll get to that later on.

The film begins "in a small town on a wide, still pond" where Franz Woyzeck (Kinski), a soldier, is stationed with his mistress Marie (Eva Mattes) and his illegitimate child. Woyzeck only seems to be happy when around Marie and his child, and who can blame him? The only other people in his life are his Captain, who tells Woyzeck he's a "good man" but one "without morals," simply because Woyzeck is poor. The other is a doctor who uses Woyzeck for various (and increasingly ridiculous) medical experiments. Woyzeck's sanity is slowly crumbling and when his captain hints that Marie may have had an affair, the film builds to a startling climax.

Woyzeck is a change of pace for both Herzog and Kinski. The movie does have some stylistic touches that only Herzog could have been responsible for and there's some beautiful cinematography right from the opening scene, but the visual extravagance that characterizes much of Herzog's directorial work is nowhere to be found here. As for Kinski, his performance here should change any previous perception you may have had of Klaus Kinski, the actor.

Kinski was apparently suffering from exhaustion when production on Woyzeck began and is said to have exploited his exhaustion for the role. Early in the film, he actually seems much more gentle and warm than I was accustomed to seeing and when Herzog takes a moment to linger on his face, there's no trace of that ferocity that was present throughout his portrayal of Aguirre. With that said, it's incredible how different the characters Aguirre and Woyzeck are and how great of an actor Kinski could be. As Aguirre, he brought out the animalistic nature that lurks within every human being. As Woyzeck, he's tapping into that slow descent into madness that any sane man can go through once he's hit his breaking point.

There's a pivotal scene in the film that plays in slow-motion with the score drowning out everything else on the soundtrack. In the hands of a lesser director, this scene could have been completely ridiculous but Herzog knows how to achieve maximum effect. In this scene, Kinski must work only with facial expression and physical mannerisms (in slow-motion, no less) and, in doing so, solidifies his Woyzeck as one of the most startling, intensely emotional performances committed to celluloid. Kinski turns in such an emotional performance, yet plays Woyzeck as an introvert...Without ego or bravado, Kinski must illustrate this man slowly unraveling inside and he does it so convincingly that Herzog's style and Kinski's performance make this pivotal scene one of the most memorable and haunting in the film. To call Kinski `electrifying' in this film is to undermine the power of electricity.

I look forward to one day seeing Woyzeck again as I'm sure my appreciation for it will only deepen. Its brief length (a quick 77 minutes) and lack of singular narrative focus make Woyzeck a slightly uneven, imperfect film. Stylistically, it does so many things correctly it's hard to not call this film a "masterpiece," especially with few movie endings able to rival the nightmarish, creeping final shot of this film. With that said, the film is a triumph for Kinski and Herzog, as well for taking Kinski to these dark depths as an actor. While I didn't love Woyzeck, it's a film that will haunt my memory and stay with me longer than many films I do love have.

GRADE: B+"