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My Best Fiend—Klaus Kinski
Werner Herzog’s documentary My Best Fiend has a most appropriate title for its subject matter. Has there ever been, in a history of cinema, a more complex character than Klaus Kinski? With a career spanning fifty years, Kinski was a brilliant actor who hated acting. He also, according to his autobiography, hated all directors, hated all his movies, and hated just about everything else about life, including himself. On screen, he exuberated with mad charisma, giving brilliant human details in rich characters often as deranged as himself. Off screen, he always yearned to be the center of attention, and would often burst into mad fits of rage, often over petty complications such as cold food or disagreements with the directional choices. As a result of Kinski’s bizarre off-screen antics, during his entire career, only two directors worked with him more than once: Schlock director Jess Franco for four films and Werner Herzog for five films. It is appropriate and notable that only Franco and Herzog worked with him repeatedly. Franco is an infamous Euro-trash director whose work borderlines pornography, much like Kinski’s life if we are to believe his autobiography. Herzog is a director whose vision and madness, if not his rage, often rivaled Kinski’s himself, and Kinski considered his many collaborations with Herzog as “his destiny.” Though Kinski and Herzog were apparently dear friends, Kinski was not kind to Herzog in his autobiography. He said of the director, “He doesn't have the foggiest inkling of how to make movies. Every scene, every angle, every shot is determined by me.” Though Herzog laughs off such comments by revealing that the two of them sat down together and wrote the asinine comments, My Best Fiend certainly reads like Herzog’s revenge. Notice I said “read.” That’s because My Best Fiend more or less plays out like a book, with Herzog simply sitting down in various locations where he filmed Kinski and recalling their misadventures, including a story about an offer that local natives made to kill Kinski when they were filming in South America. Herzog considered the offer but eventually declined, because he still needed Kinski for a few more days of filming. “I always regretted my decision,” Herzog sadly comments, and this gives us good insight into the men’s relationship. We are also given clips from various Kinski/Herzog collaborations, including Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo; more interesting, however, are the clips from Burden of Dreams, the documentary made about the grueling process of making Fitzcarraldo, which included pulling a steam ship through the Amazon with wires and pulleys. Such an endeavor could have killed everyone on the crew if the wires had snapped, but Herzog insisted that no models be used. Of course, Herzog leaves out those details and instead focuses on clips showcasing a mad, deranged Kinski exploding on set. If My Best Fiend seems one-sided and in Herzog’s favor, that is only because Herzog apparently has never forgiven Kinski of all the pains he caused him, and the director refuses to turn the other cheek here. Such insight into Herzog’s own insane directing choices adds extra layers of humor to My Best Fiend, because we realize that despite what Herzog is presenting here, there are two sides to every coin. Not that Herzog focuses completely on Kinski’s madness. We see interviews with Eva Mattes, Kinksi’s co-star in Woyzeck, and the actress discusses Kinski’s absolute kindness to her on and off set. Herzog also includes clips from a film festival, where the men demonstrate complete friendship and devotion. These tender moments are the best thing about My Best Fiend, because they demonstrate how, despite Kinski’s madness, Herzog was able to direct him time and time again. Kinski might have been a madman, and he and Herzog might have constantly been at odds, but there is no denying that Kinski was also a master at his craft, and the men understood one another enough to make some of the most cherished films of all time. It is impossible to appreciate My Best Fiend unless you are familiar with the films that Kinski and Herzog made together. This documentary is not a starting point to understand the troubled actor, but rather a finishing point from the director who knew him best, and who directed his best performances. That said, I doubt that you’re reading this review unless you have some familiarity with Herzog and Kinski. If so, My Best Fiend will be an important, insightful look into both men. It is not a great film—too much time is spent with the camera simply sitting on Herzog as he recalls random events, and more clips of Kinski’s off-screen antics could have given the film a bit more direction and supported many of Herzog’s stories. Nevertheless, it is a valuable documentary for those interested in these men’s films and working relationship. If nothing else, when Herzog admits, “Every grey hair on my head, I call Kinski,” he has established his thesis well enough that we believe him wholeheartedly. Cast: A film written, directed,
and narrated by Werner Herzog. No M.P.A.A. rating (contains brief
violence, intense scenes, and harsh language). Running time: 95
minutes. Original theatrical release date: May 17, 1999 (Cannes
Film Festival). German with English subtitles. Questions? Comments? E-mail me: danel_the_tinman@hotmail.com |
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