It’s sort of curious to consider, but it may be said that Werner Herzog’s controvery is not controversial in itself. By this I mean that he’s reached a comfortable plateau where his audience comprehends his filmmaking mandate, and rarely do his works draw ire, confusion, or surprise among them. His films are controversial, yes, but we all knew they were going to be. That’s how he likes it. I mean, he’s done some incredibly crazy things:
He once had a large river boat pulled over a South American mountain pass for the sake of a film. He walked from Munich to Paris in the winter, sleeping in barns and keeping a diary. He ate his shoe after he was dared to. He habitated with notoriously difficult actor (and best friend) Klaus Kinski and lived to tell the tale.
But the above clip offers a glimpse into the charming, playful side of Herzog, where one wonders: does he really feel this way about chickens? Or is he just getting our goats? There’s no way chickens are that dumb. (But we’re still waiting on further comment from PETA).
Video directed by Siri Bunford, shot by Tom Streithorst.
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Jessica Carroll is the Toronto Standard’s editorial assistant. Follow her on Twitter at @jssckr.
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