For the Depressive Nihilist in All of Us: Werner Herzog on the "Overwhelming" Misery of the Jungle

While we all know Herzog is a notorious dark horse — one only has to glance at his filmography (Aguirre, the Wrath of God , Nosferatu the Vampyre, Wild Blue YonderHappy People: A Year in the Taiga, Grizzly Man, etc. etc. etc.)—to see the man's got a penchant for the strange and shadowy parts of life.

From the supernatural and extraterrestrial to the depraved, violent, cerebral and provocative, Herzog isn't one to shy away from society's—real and imagined—underbelly.

But how much of Herzog's own mind is he bringing to bear on these films? If the video below is any indication of his daily head-space, you can bet yer britches it's a lot. I mean, the sh*t he says about witnessing the South American jungle in all its glory is d.a.r.k. While most people stammer happily about the incredible beauty of the lush forest, the startling colors and sounds of exotic birds and animals, the rich smell of fertile soil after a rainfall...Herzog prefers to describe it as the "overwhelming collective harmony of murder."

And that's just one gem. Basically the whole thing is a psychological mind-f*ck of epic proportions. Happy Hump day kids.

How do you get out of bed in the morning when you think like that man!? But again, maybe the whole thing is a tricky 'lil schtick and when he goes home at night he's a little beam of sunshine. Maybe.

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