"The Wild Blue Yonder:" Brad Dourif as a space alien? Worth the price of admission
Given the gravity of such films as "Aguirre, The Wrath of God" and more recently "Grizzly Man," it's easy to forget that Werner Herzog has a playful side — a dry appreciation for the absurd that fits nicely with the childlike sense of wonder Herzog conveys in much of his prodigious output.
A citizen of the world, Herzog reaches beyond Earth to create "The Wild Blue Yonder," a so-called "science-fiction fantasy" about an epic trip to our planet, another epic journey away from it, and Herzog's musings on the implacable dominance of nature.
Brad Dourif, who appeared with Herzog when "The Wild Blue Yonder" was shown last year at the Seattle Art Museum, is arguably the best casting choice to play an alien from the galaxy Andromeda, serving as narrator and host to Herzog's space- and time-traveling mockumentary.
Standing before a ghost town that was meant to be the start of a thriving alien city (it's actually an abandoned mall south of Los Angeles), he's not a happy extraterrestrial. Wouldn't you be a bit peeved if you traveled all the way from Andromeda and failed at your first business venture?
"The whole thing sucked," he says, kicking the dirt like Lou Piniella after a bad call at home plate. "Nobody came, nobody settled, nobody shopped. We aliens all suck. I guess we're just failures."
The mere sight and sound of Dourif delivering that line is enough to make "The Wild Blue Yonder" adequately enjoyable.
As Herzog proceeds to chronicle a journey back to Dourif's home planet (in actuality, he's using previously unseen footage of astronauts aboard NASA's space shuttle mission STS-43), the film becomes a soothing meditation on the fates of sentient beings in the wake of ever-present change and evolution.
Through all of this splendid footage, which Herzog has chosen to match his bogus study of an alien world that's always identifiable as Earth, the polyphonic harmonies of Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger (with vocals by Senegalese singer Mola Sylla) have a suitably hypnotic effect. It lulls the viewer into accepting Herzog's ruse as a flimsy but cleverly metaphorical plea for sensible stewardship of our planet.
Jeff Shannon: j.sh@verizon.net
"The Wild Blue Yonder," with Brad Dourif and the astronauts of the space shuttle mission STS-43. Written and directed by Werner Herzog. 81 minutes. Not rated; suitable for general audiences. Northwest Film Forum.