Bruno Stroszek is released from prison and ekes out a living as a street musician. He befriends Eva, a prostitute down on her luck. After they are harried and beaten by Eva's pimps, they join Bruno's neighbor, Scheitz, an ... more »elderly eccentric, when he leaves Germany to live in Wisconsin in search of the American dream.« less
"It really is exciting to read these great reviews about "Stroszek." About twenty years ago, I met Herzog and was given the opportunity to play the young banker who reposesses the mobile home in this film. It was a wonderful experience...and something I look back on with great joy. I know I am biased, but this truly is a great film."
A Rare Gem
Douglas E. Pritchard | Albany, NY | 11/17/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I find it frustrating that American filmmakers cannot make a film as good as this one is. The whole story of misplaced hopes and lost dreams on the dreary American landscape is more powerful in it's telling than many films have been. The action of this film moves us from birth to death in a philosophical journey of the soul. The arrival of these obviously hopeful and distraught people on American shores is like the rebirth many immigrants went through when they escaped their own countries and arrived here. Dreams of streets paved with gold and the easy credit of American commerce is the undoing of many yet, here we see the disaster of it all. One doesn't have to be a recent immigrant to experience the foibles of modern credit like our characters do. They exemplify it though and it is to their peril that they do not understand it. The closing scene where we hear the solitary gunshot is most powerful. That it is done near a roadside zoo with it's caged animals is perfect because it portrays the cage our man has put himself into. There is only one way out, he takes it. Like many powerful financiers of the twenties who lost everything he does the only thing which will solve his problems.
The gunshot is his goodbye to his problems and the beginning of his new life. A shame that American studios cannot produce movies such as this. They are in need of lessons from directors who understand cinema and should study films of this type. Maybe they will be able to improve the fare they offer to us."
Herzog's Humanity
Eileen Corder | West Coast | 09/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Stoszek is a extraordinary patchwork of reality and fiction, German and English, introspection and extroversion. It's many unique images do not go away: a bottle of water that captures a live Breugel-like snow scene, rifle-toting farmers on tractors defending their strip of land, a wizened little man testing fence posts with a voltmeter, and the truly haunting "Dancing Chicken". Herzog, with the eye and ear of a poet, captures these and more, including the unforgettable and weighty performances by the many amateur actors.
Most welcomed of this DVD is the commentary track by Herzog. It's like watching a second film. To see the same images while hearing his stories deepens the impact of Stroszek. We learn the fascinating backgrounds of the curious individuals involved: the dangerous Hamburg Prince, the compassionate doctor in the Preemie Ward, Al the trucker-pimp, Clayton the beer-swilling mechanic, the unnamed "extras" in the fields and truck stops of Wisconsin, and, of course, Bruno S. himself.
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Probably Herzog's Best
J. Pinkerton Snoopington | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 01/27/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Stroszek" is probably German director Werner Herzog's best film. It's a strange, unpredictable, and oddly funny movie. It's about a Berlin ex-con, Bruno Stroszek (played by a real-life disturbed street musician, Bruno S.), his prostitute girlfriend Eva, and his borderline-senile landlord Scheitz. After being repeatedly terrorized by Eva's pimps, they move to Wisconsin to live with some of Scheitz's friends and, hopefully, encounter the American dream. Revealing any more of the plot would be a crime. "Stroszek" not only has a terrific, haunting performance by Bruno S., but it contains the most fascinating depiction of America I have ever seen in a movie, as well as one of filmdom's funniest bank robberies.
The DVD has "Stroszek" in an aspect ratio of about 1.85:1. It's a bit grainy towards the beginning, but overall it looks pretty good, especially in the Wisconsin scenes. Of the extras, the most interesting is Herzog's commentary, basically an extended interview with a film historian named Norman Hill. It's a very fascinating blend of production tidbits, information about Bruno S., and some of Herzog's trademark tall tales. Also included are production notes (with are actually devoted more to film analysis and Herzog's relationship with Bruno S. than they are to production), a worthwhile Herzog biography, and a German trailer."
Everyone Knows Dollars Grow on Trees in Wisconsin
Erika Borsos | Gulf Coast of FL, USA | 10/31/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Werner Herzog, world reknown film maker and producer received the lifetime achievement award at the Sarasota Film Festival in April 2006. His films are primarily fictionalized documentaries. He adds fiction to bring focus on a larger truth by exaggerating events and making a bigger statement to prove his point. Herzog based the story of "Stroszek" on several real life events, some murders in Wisconsin and a street musician (who plays himself) who lived in Berlin, who was the son of a prostitute, who had been raised in reform schools and ended up in prison. He is lost in the real world because it is totally alien to him. Herzog provides an unusual cast of characters, many of whom are not actors, but play themselves, mostly working class (Wisconsin mechanics and Indians) and street low lifes (thugs in Berlin) who live unusually simple lives, just making ends meet in the world. The extra features include audio commentary with Werner Herzog who explains some of the innovative ideas on which he based the film. This is a tragi-comedy where no matter what improvements in life the main characters attempt, fate intervenes to twist them in a different direction, usually downward. There are humorous and ironic events which makes this a fascinating film from an artistic and creative aspect.
We meet Bruno Stroszek as he is being released from prison, he is given his belongings: cash, a flugel horn, his accordion and a lecture from the prison warden. The warden has a thankless job but when he sees someone released it brings him some measure of satisfaction: he lectures Bruno, to stop drinking beer which makes him crazy and break the a law. The warden tells him to buy a cup of coffee and a piece of pie instead. Bruno returns to the former apartment he shared with an eccentric elderly gentleman. He resumes relations with his prostitute girlfriend Eva, who is beaten up by street thugs. This event provides the impetus to emigrate to the United States, to Wisconsin, where the elderly gentleman had an American friend or cousin with whom he kept in touch.
In the US, Bruno gets a job as a mechanic, Eva becomes a waitress. They buy a mobile/trailer home and television set by taking a loan from the bank. It does not take long before they fall behind on their payments. They receive a visit from the bank loan officer, a very polite man, who makes it clear in the kindest of tones that unless they meet their obligations, the bank will confiscate their home and TV. Eva returns to her former way of life, finding clients at the truck stop restaurant, to provide extra money to pay the loan. Bruno falls into a funk, realizing no matter what they do, they will not make ends meet. Eva ends up leaving with a group of truckers to Canada ... Bruno and the elderly man go on a robbing spree, to get money in order to eat. It happens to be Thanksgiving, so the irony is they rob a store to buy a turkey. The elderly man is caught and arrested. Bruno's car breaks down but he obtains the truck from the mechanic's shop and goes on a driving rampage. He ends up at a Wisconsin tourist trap where he takes a ski lift type ride on which he sits and goes round and round. Prior to that he had turned on several of the exhibits in which different animals perform various tricks. The last scene is one of the most humorous and creative endings which earned Herzog fame. It depicts in a surreal manner that for some the American Dream becomes a bizarre nightmare from which there is no release. The film will appeal to those who are interested in unusual innovations and creativity in filmmaking. There is a lot of irony and off the wall humour which may appeal only to a selective audience. Erika Borsos {pepper flower}"