Not every story has a happy ending, or not every story has an ending. This is just like that not everything/event in life would have a closure or resolution. Unlike most of the mainstream films nowadays that bring the audiences. into their fantasy world, Stroszek pulls the audiences back to reality and imbues them with depression and hopelessness. At least to me, Bruno in Stroszek is pretty much hopeless, he is either going back to the mental institution back in Germany or he is going to be arrested and immured by American policemen. The ending is ambiguous yet leaving the audiences a few possible thoughts including Bruno might be arrested, Bruno might escape from the police but still ends up being a poor hopeless maverick, and Bruno could die from the cold in the brutal winter of the Midwest. I kept wondering if this is that kind of reality that Werner Herzog talked in the interview where he told the host that being shot was kind of cool. And this is the reality we all have because we cannot predict everything in life and we cannot make things the way we want them to be sometimes. That is why life is full of sorrow and joy. I believe Stroszek is only the epitome of one of those bleak scenes in life and reality is not all about being hopeless because we still have films that are with happy endings.
Bruno Stroszek
The music video project is going smoothly. We planed the timeline out and the first day of shooting is around the corner. I'm just doing research on green screen technology and I found this super cool tutorial online today with Johnny.
I feel as though what you've said really cuts to the core of Stroszek. I feel as though, even in the happiest and most hopeful scenes of the film, the idea of bleak hopelessness managed to creep in. Sometimes that is reality, and I also agree that Herzog does an excellent job of bringing the viewer into someone else's intensely strife-ridden reality.
Jinglei, wans't it frustrating for you to watch the entire movie, just as simple as it was and then find out at the end, that there WAS not ending at all!? I was less frustrated than I was perplexed. I wonder why Herzog would maintain such a simple and direct narrative throughout the film, but keep the ending so complex and completely unresolved. After thinking about it for quite some time, I somewhat came to a conclusion! I think he was trying to portray through his film that reality is not as simple as it seems. If you remember from the article we read in class, Herzog claims that his work has a "life of its own" and that most of his films depict reality. Hence, if he were really depicting reality through his film, yet leaving it uncertain and vague at the end, was he indicating that life is a big question itself? That reality cannot be resolved, even if one tries to do so? I wish there had been an ending to the film. But I guess that's what makes the film so significantly intriguing!! Without this end, the film would have probably been dull and predictable.
Funny that you mentioned how the ending reflects the entire movie. I made those same observations. The viseo is amazing, and I can not wait to get to work.
You remind us of the duality of dealing with the ideas and the machinery of making art. Artists must constantly be learning to work with materials and machines to articulate their ideas.
I feel as though what you've said really cuts to the core of Stroszek. I feel as though, even in the happiest and most hopeful scenes of the film, the idea of bleak hopelessness managed to creep in. Sometimes that is reality, and I also agree that Herzog does an excellent job of bringing the viewer into someone else's intensely strife-ridden reality.
ReplyDeleteJinglei, wans't it frustrating for you to watch the entire movie, just as simple as it was and then find out at the end, that there WAS not ending at all!? I was less frustrated than I was perplexed. I wonder why Herzog would maintain such a simple and direct narrative throughout the film, but keep the ending so complex and completely unresolved.
ReplyDeleteAfter thinking about it for quite some time, I somewhat came to a conclusion! I think he was trying to portray through his film that reality is not as simple as it seems. If you remember from the article we read in class, Herzog claims that his work has a "life of its own" and that most of his films depict reality. Hence, if he were really depicting reality through his film, yet leaving it uncertain and vague at the end, was he indicating that life is a big question itself? That reality cannot be resolved, even if one tries to do so? I wish there had been an ending to the film. But I guess that's what makes the film so significantly intriguing!! Without this end, the film would have probably been dull and predictable.
Funny that you mentioned how the ending reflects the entire movie. I made those same observations. The viseo is amazing, and I can not wait to get to work.
ReplyDeleteYou remind us of the duality of dealing with the ideas and the machinery of making art. Artists must constantly be learning to work with materials and machines to articulate their ideas.
ReplyDelete