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La Soufrière (film)
Encyclopedia
La Soufrière - Warten auf eine unausweichliche Katastrophe ("La Soufrière - Waiting for an Inevitable Disaster") is a 1977 West German documentary film
in which German
director Werner Herzog
visits an island on which a volcano
is about to erupt. The pretext of this film was provided when Herzog "heard about the impending volcanic eruption, that the island of Guadeloupe
had been evacuated and that one peasant
had refused to leave, [he] knew [he] wanted to go talk to him and find out what kind of relationship towards death he had" (Cronin). Herzog explores the deserted streets of the towns on the island. The crew of three treks up to the caldera
, where clouds of sulfur
ous steam and smoke shift drift like "harbingers of death" (Peucker), an example of the sublime
Herzog seeks to conjure in his films. Herzog converses in French with three different men he finds remaining on the island: one says he is waiting for death, and demonstrates his posture for doing so; another says he has stayed to look after the animals. In the end, of course, the volcano did not erupt, thus sparing the lives of those who had remained on the island, including Herzog and his crew.
Werner Herzog's films tend to focus on those outside of mainstream
society, often on individuals who exhibit a completely egocentric
picture of the world. Driven by either madness
or complete harmony with nature
, the subjects of Herzog's films exemplify life at its most spiritually extreme. The people who remained on the island had accepted their fate, and had given their lives to God
. One man seemed surprised that Herzog would even question his resignation to die at the hands of the volcano. Others simply did not see the point in evacuating the island. Death
(and the eruption of the volcano) cannot be escaped, only temporarily avoided. Those who remained had given their lives to God and did not see the point in trying to run away from that which cannot be conquered, and should not be fear
ed.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
in which German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
director Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
visits an island on which a volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
is about to erupt. The pretext of this film was provided when Herzog "heard about the impending volcanic eruption, that the island of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
had been evacuated and that one peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
had refused to leave, [he] knew [he] wanted to go talk to him and find out what kind of relationship towards death he had" (Cronin). Herzog explores the deserted streets of the towns on the island. The crew of three treks up to the caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
, where clouds of sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
ous steam and smoke shift drift like "harbingers of death" (Peucker), an example of the sublime
Sublime (philosophy)
In aesthetics, the sublime is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual or artistic...
Herzog seeks to conjure in his films. Herzog converses in French with three different men he finds remaining on the island: one says he is waiting for death, and demonstrates his posture for doing so; another says he has stayed to look after the animals. In the end, of course, the volcano did not erupt, thus sparing the lives of those who had remained on the island, including Herzog and his crew.
Werner Herzog's films tend to focus on those outside of mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
society, often on individuals who exhibit a completely egocentric
Egocentrism
Egocentrism is a personality trait which has the characteristic of regarding oneself and one's own opinions or interests as most important or valid...
picture of the world. Driven by either madness
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
or complete harmony with nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
, the subjects of Herzog's films exemplify life at its most spiritually extreme. The people who remained on the island had accepted their fate, and had given their lives to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. One man seemed surprised that Herzog would even question his resignation to die at the hands of the volcano. Others simply did not see the point in evacuating the island. Death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
(and the eruption of the volcano) cannot be escaped, only temporarily avoided. Those who remained had given their lives to God and did not see the point in trying to run away from that which cannot be conquered, and should not be fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
ed.
External links
- La Soufriere at Allmovie
- Werner Herzog on filming La Soufrière (Video interview from Capturing Reality: The Art of DocumentaryCapturing Reality: The Art of DocumentaryCapturing Reality: The Art of Documentary is a film and website about documentary filmmaking, directed by Pepita Ferrari. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, Capturing Reality explores the creative process of over 30 leading documentary filmmakers, combining interviews with excerpts from...
)